Stimulus check speculation has been rife for a couple of weeks with many expecting a fourth payment to be rolled out soon by Trump. The first stimulus payment was issued in March and April 2020, the second payment was issued by January 15, 2021, and the third payment was issued between March and December 2021. The deadline to file for all these payments has now passed. Any unclaimed check amounts would have now directly become the property of the US Treasury. No extensions or appeals were granted in the matter.
How much was each payment worth?
The first stimulus payment was worth $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples, and an additional $500 per qualifying child below the age of 17. The second check was worth $600 per individual, $1,200 for married couples, and $600 per qualifying child under the age of 17. The third stimulus payment, which was provided to claim Recovery Rebate Credit for 2021, was worth $1,400 per eligible individual. The same amount was applicable per dependent for married couples filing jointly.
When can you expect your tax refund?
Once your tax returns have been accepted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you will receive a “Refund Sent” alert upon checking your application status online. Following the acceptance of your claim, it wouldn’t ideally take long for the payment to be processed.
Those who filed their taxes electronically can expect a refund via direct deposit within 21 days. Paper checks can take from six to eight weeks.
How to check your refund status?
The IRS has developed an online mechanism called “Where’s my Refund?” that allows beneficiaries to self-check the status of their application. By providing your Social Security number, filing status, and refund amount, you can check the status of your refund 24 hours after filing for the same. Here are the different updates you might receive on the platform and what they mean:
• Return received (processing)
• Refund approved (preparing to issue a refund by the date shown)
• Refund sent (send to your bank or in the mail)
Is a fourth payment on the way?
In February of this year, Trump announced the possibility of rolling out $5,000 stimulus checks to all eligible taxpayers if the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) were to be able to reach their target of cutting down by 20% on all government expenditure by eliminating “wasteful spending”. Since then, there has been no official update regarding a possible fourth stimulus payment. The chances of this actualizing into reality remain slim given Musk’s recent exit from the DoGE and their reported inability to hit the set target.
Those whose taxes were electronically filed and accepted by April 15 can expect to receive their third stimulus payment by May 6 via direct deposit or by June 16th if opted for physical mail.
By Stuti Gupta
