$600 stimulus check qualifications: Income limit, age and more facts - CNET

We now have a good idea of who'll be eligible for a second stimulus check.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The $900 billion stimulus bill became law on Sunday night, and the IRS has already begun to send out a second stimulus check with $600 maximum payments via direct deposit, check and debit card to those who qualify. But just who is eligible for this second round of money?

Below, you'll find answers to common questions about eligibility requirements that have changed in the second stimulus check and who may not qualify to get the second stimulus payment. There's also a chart to help you understand which groups of people may get a $600 second stimulus check and a stimulus check calculator that can generate a personal payment estimate. We regularly update this story.

The second stimulus payment lowers the income limit

The coronavirus rescue bill has now been signed into law, setting the income limits for a $600 second check will stick closely to the first, with a few adjustments. As with the first direct payment under the CARES Act, the income limits are based on your adjusted gross income, or AGI. 

In one change for the $600 check, Congress decided to just use your 2019 AGI to determine if you qualify for a stimulus check, assuming you meet all the other requirements -- not your AGI from 2018. (More below for people who don't normally file taxes.) 

Here are the income limits for the second stimulus check. The first figure below represents the lower income limit to receive the full amount. Above that figure, your check amount would decrease on a sliding scale the higher your AGI, until it hits the second figure, which is the most you can make before you're disqualified. Check out our stimulus check calculator to get an estimate for your specific situation. These income limits do not count qualified children.

$600 second stimulus check income limits

	AGI to receive full amount	AGI to phase out of payment	Down from
Single tax filer	Under $75,000	$87,000	$99,000
Head of a household	Under $112,500	$124,500	$146,000
Married, filing jointly	Under $150,00	$174,000	$198,000

Adults and their children can get $600 apiece with the second stimulus payment

With the second stimulus check, each eligible adult will get up to $600, decreasing as income raises (more on this above) and each child dependent -- age 16 and younger -- can also qualify for a $600 payment. There is no cap on how many children you can claim for a payment.

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As with the first stimulus check, children age 17 and above and dependent adults will not be eligible for the $600 dependent payout. This excludes roughly 13.5 million adult dependents from contributing to the household total, according to the People's Policy Project.

Read more: Nobody can take your stimulus check away, right? Know your rights

Who could qualify for a second stimulus check

Qualifying group	Covered in final law
Individuals	An AGI of less than $87,000
Head of household	An AGI of less than $124,500
Couple filing jointly	An AGI less than $174,000
Children under 17 years old	$600 apiece, no limit on number of children
Families with noncitizen spouse	Provided they meet other qualifications
US citizens living abroad	Yes, same as CARES
Citizens of US territories	Yes, same as CARES, with payments handled by each territory
SSDI and other tax nonfilers	Yes, but may require an extra step to claim (more below)
Incarcerated people	Initially excluded under CARES Act but now included
People who owe child support	Excluded under CARES, but included in bill
Disqualified groups	Not covered in final law
Non-US citizens	Qualifying "alien residents" are currently included under CARES
Noncitizens who pay taxes	Not included if no US citizen spouse

There is one important change to qualify 'mixed-status' families

In the $900 billion stimulus package, a US citizen and their noncitizen spouse are both eligible for a payment as long as they have Social Security numbers. This has been referred to as a "mixed-status" household when it comes to citizenship.

In the CARES Act from March, households with a person who was not a US citizen were not eligible to receive a stimulus check, even if one spouse and a child were US citizens.

Excluded: Noncitizens who file federal taxes and aren't married to US citizens

The CARES Act made a Social Security number a requirement for a payment. While earlier proposals would've expanded the eligibility to those with an ITIN instead of a Social Security number because they're classified as a resident or nonresident alien, this group of people is again excluded in the final bill text.

If the definition of a dependent changes, your family could benefit.

Angela Lang/CNET

Will my stimulus check be garnished if I have child support debt?

If you owed child support, your first stimulus money could be garnished for arrears (the amount you owe). In the new bill, those who owe child support will not have their payment docked to cover past-due payments.

Incarcerated citizens can receive a second stimulus payment as the law stands

After months of back and forth, the IRS was ordered by a federal judge to send the first stimulus checks to people who are incarcerated. They are not excluded from the new law, which means eligibility for this group currently stands.

How much stimulus money you could get depends on who you are.

Angela Lang/CNET

Will my taxes affect the amount of my stimulus payment? What if I don't typically file taxes? 

For most people, taxes and stimulus checks are tightly connected. For example, the most important factor in setting income limits is AGI, which determines how much of the total amount you could receive, be it $600 or $1,200 for individuals and $1,200 or $2,400 for married couples (excluding children for now).

Read below for your eligibility if you don't typically file taxes.

If you're an older or retired adult, here's what you need to know right now

Many older adults, including retirees over age 65, received a first stimulus check under the CARES Act, and will be eligible for a second one. For older adults and retired people, factors like your tax filings, your AGI, your pension and if you're part of the SSDI program (more below) will affect if you receive a second payment. 

I haven't submitted my 2019 federal tax return. Can I still get the second stimulus check?

With the second payment, the IRS will use your 2019 tax returns to determine eligibility. People who weren't required to file a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019 may still be eligible to receive the first stimulus check under the CARES Act. And this group will qualify again. Here are reasons you might not have been required to file:

With the first stimulus check, nonfilers needed to provide the IRS with some information before they could receive their payment. (If you still haven't received a first check even though you were eligible, the IRS said you can claim it on your taxes in 2021.) This fall, the IRS attempted to contact 9 million Americans who may have fallen into this category but who haven't requested their payment. Those in this group can claim their payment on next year's taxes.

Under the new law, those who used the IRS the Nonfiler portal to file for the first check will also receive a second payment. We've reached out to the IRS and US Treasury to clarify what action, if any, these "nonfilers" will need to take.

Will I be eligible for a stimulus payment if I have SSI or SSDI?

Those who are part of the SSI or SSDI program qualified for a check under the CARES Act. Recipients wouldn't receive their payments via their Direct Express card, which the government typically uses to distribute federal benefits, but through a non-Direct Express bank account or as a paper check. SSDI recipients can file next year to request a payment for themselves and dependents.

Under the new law, these recipients will again qualify to receive payments, along with Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Administration beneficiaries.

For more, here's what we know about the contents of the new stimulus package. We also have information on the chances of a third stimulus check in 2021. Here are the top things you should know about the second stimulus check.

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