On Sunday evening, December 27, President Trump signed into law the $900 billion second stimulus package for COVID-19 relief that will provide $600 checks to individuals, $300 in enhanced unemployment checks some $284 billion in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP loans) for small business relief and additional funding for schools, small businesses and vaccine distribution. Given that expanded unemployment benefits lapsed on December 26 for some 12 million Americans, this follow-up to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides much-needed assistance at a vital moment.
Second Stimulus Package Individual Assistance
Second Stimulus Checks for COVID-19 Relief
The second stimulus checks will total $600 per person, according to the relief package text released by Congressional leaders, which also notes those with adjusted gross income (AGI) $75,000 or more will receive a reduced amount of money until it phases out entirely. This means that your payment will be reduced by 5% or $5 for every $100 that you made above the AGI limit. So if you earned more than $87,000 as an individual taxpayer, $174,000 as a married taxpayer filing jointly, and $124,500 as a head of household, you will not get a stimulus payment.
The second stimulus checks will also provide an additional $600 payment for every qualifying dependent under the age of 17. So if you filed your taxes as a married couple with three children, you could get up to $3,000. Currently, there’s no limit on the number of dependents that you can claim as long as they are within the age requirement and you claimed them on your tax return.
The second stimulus checks are half the maximum payment of $1,200 for adults paid out to adults as part of the CARES Act, and they are also meager compared to the once-proposed $2,000 stimulus checks.
Enhanced Unemployment Benefits: Second Stimulus Package
The second-stimulus package includes $300 in enhanced unemployment benefits, set at $300 per week.
Second Stimulus Package Relief: Food and Housing Protections
The second stimulus package extends the moratorium on evictions, which ends at the end of 2020, through January 31, 2021.
The packages provides $25 billion in assistance to those struggling to pay rent.
Second Stimulus Package Business Assistance
The second stimulus includes a number of relief measures for businesses. This includes a $284 billion expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to businesses to cover payroll and other expenses. There will also be $45 billion earmarked for transportation services, including Amtrak and airports. Around $15 billion is being spent in funding for “live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions.”