Second Stimulus Check Calculator (HEALS Act)

The HEALS Act proposal is finally ready for review! The HEALS Act is a follow up of the CARES Act and provides a crucial second round of stimulus checks and more.

After the original CARES Act was passed into law, the Democrats proposed a $3 trillion relief package as part of the HEROES Act (learn more with the second stimulus check calculator). It was approved by the House of Representatives and included additional instruments, such as student loans (check the student loan repayment calculator), federal unemployment benefits, and changes to voting requirements. However, the bill was called "dead on arrival" by President Donald Trump.

After a long wait of almost two months, the Senate majority has worked out an alternative proposal of the relief package. Now that the HEALS Act is on the table, it still has to go through at least one round of negotiation by Congress before it can be presented to President Donald Trump for final approval.

You might be asking yourself: will I be eligible for the new stimulus check? There's no need to leaf through the new bill - all you have to do is use our calculator, and you'll see how much you can receive!

The new stimulus check will work on the exactly same principle as the first stimulus payment calculator. It means that if you were eligible for the first stimulus, you will also receive a check this time!

1. The amount of money differs by income, with higher earning citizens receiving less. Every American who earns up to $75,000 a year is eligible for a one-time payment of $1,200. If you earn more than $75,000 and less than $99,000, you will also qualify for a check, but it will be lower. If your annual income exceeds $99,000, you are not eligible for the check.

2. Children claimed as dependents increase the amount of money. If you apply for the check as a single parent or a married couple, you will be eligible for an additional $500 for every dependent. Unlike the CARES Act which limited dependent claims to children under 17, the HEALS Act provides the $500 benefit for dependents of any age as long as they have a Social Security number.

3. Married couples receive joint checks. Sum your annual income with the income of your spouse. If the joint income doesn't exceed $150,000, you will be eligible for a $2,400 check. The stimulus phases out on a joint income of $198,000.

4. The maximum income is higher for people who qualify as a head of household. In such a case, you will receive the full stimulus payment - $1,200 - if your earnings don't exceed $112,500. You will still get a check, although smaller, if your income is higher (up to $136,500).

As with the first stimulus check, there are many special cases. If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican congressmen decide to treat them exactly in the same manner as in the first stimulus check, this is what you can expect:

• If you have filed your 2019 or 2018 tax return or you're on Social Security, you will be eligible for the check. You don't need to have paid the taxes, but you must have filed the paperwork. You will also get the payment if you are receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), RRB, or VA benefits.

• You don't need to apply for the check. If you're eligible, you will receive a direct transfer to your bank account or a check per mail.

• You can claim adults as dependents - Although the CARES Act limited dependents to children up to the age of 17, the HEALS Act has no age limit for dependents.

Repeating the exact same requirements as from the first stimulus check will allow the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) to deliver the transfers checks extremely quickly, without the need to gather information, as all citizens have already been verified against the eligibility criteria. If the bill is finalized before August 7, you may be able to expect the stimulus check even in August.

The new HEALS Act presented by the congressional Republicans on July 27th provides much more than just the stimulus check. A total of roughly $1 trillion will be made available to combat the impact of COVID-19 on the American economy. The services include:

• An extension of the enhanced unemployment benefit, providing up to $200 extra per week (reduced from the $600 from CARES Act).

• A second round of PPP loans - this time for businesses under 300 employees or within the SBA size threshold in their industry, in cases when they can demonstrate that they lost at least 50 percent of their revenue due to the coronavirus situation. PPP will be more generous for farmers and ranchers.

• $100 billion towards an education fund to help schools reopen.

• Economic incentives to boost worker retention.

• Liability protections for medical workers, schools, and employers.

• Protection from Medicare premium spikes.

• More funding for personal protective equipment to help first responders avoid infection from COVID-19.

If stimulus checks are to be provided in August, Congress has only until August 7 to agree on a final bill. The Senate is scheduled to be off on summer recess after Friday, August 7, 2020 and will return September 8, 2020. Hopefully the negotiations are completed by then, but if the bill isn't approved by August 7, we may not see any stimulus checks until September.

As a benchmark, the original bipartisan CARES Act was signed into law within two days after it was passed by the Senate, and the first checks were sent two weeks later.