Economic stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center May 8, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)
The IRS sent out a sixth batch of stimulus checks this week, delivering payments to another 2 million Americans as part of President Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
The agency said Thursday that it has disbursed about 161 million payments, worth roughly $379 billion, in the span of about five weeks.
The latest round, worth about $3.4 billion, went to 700,000 individuals who had recently filed a 2020 tax return. The government has urged Americans who do not receive federal benefits nor typically file tax returns to submit one this year in order to provide the IRS with their payment information and receive their stimulus cash.
Another 600,000 payments went to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients, including those with foreign addresses.
The IRS also sent supplemental "plus-up" payments to taxpayers who were owed more money based on their 2020 tax returns. Americans may be entitled to a bigger payment if they lost their jobs, or saw their income reduced, last year as a result of the pandemic. That also includes individuals who had a child in 2020.
If you haven't received your payment yet, you can check its status using the IRS' Get My Payment tool.
The cash payments included in Biden's stimulus bill are the largest yet, with some Americans eligible to receive up to $1,400. But like the previous rounds of checks — worth a respective $1,200 and $600 — some people will be excluded from getting the money.
Under the legislation, individuals with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less and couples with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less are eligible to receive a one-time payment of $1,400.
Americans who earn more than the threshold line will still receive a partial check. But payments are cut off for individuals who earn $80,000 a year or more and couples who earn $160,000 a year or more. For those filing as head of household, the phaseout begins at $112,500 and tapers off at $120,000.
The checks are directly tied to your latest processed tax returns, either from 2020 or 2019.
If you didn't qualify for the latest round of checks based on 2019, but you do qualify now, you should file your taxes as soon as possible, even though the IRS extended the typical filing deadline from April 15 to May 17.
Americans who saw their income reduced or lost their job, or who had a child, got married or could no longer be claimed as a dependent last year, should consider filing their tax return as soon as possible in order to guarantee they receive a stimulus payment.
Read more at FOXBusiness.com.
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