CALLS for a fourth stimulus check from Congress continue as Congress and the White House have made little progress on the issue.
Despite calls for more relief, the Press Secretary has insisted that President Joe Biden has already proposed plans he believes will be "most effective for the short term."
Meanwhile, a new stimulus check tool has made it easier for hard-hit families to sign up for $300 relief cash.
Parents can now easily enroll for the new direct payments or opt-out of them as a result of the temporary expansion of the child tax credit.
The "child tax credit update portal" allows families to see if they're eligible for the enhanced child credit and how to monitor their payments accordingly.
IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said: “IRS employees continue to work hard to help people receive this important credit."
Read our live blog below for the latest on stimulus checks...
- Julia Fields
STATES STOPPING ADDITIONAL FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT PAYMENTS
Payments in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah will be cut off from Saturday, June 26.
In Montana and Oklahoma residents will lose their unemployment benefits end on June 27.
The payments will stop on July 3 in Maryland and Tennessee and on July 10 in Arizona.
- Cybele Mayes-Osterman
IRS WARNS PAYMENT IS DELAYED
The IRS is experiencing delays after the agency was forced to run at restricted capacity in 2020, straining its processing and stimulus check rollout.
The IRS is currently processing mail, tax returns, payments, refunds and correspondence with very limited resources and is trying to issue refunds in less than three weeks, CNET reported.
Mailed paper tax returns and manual processing could take longer as 2020 tax returns may need more review to determine the recovery rebate credit amount, additional child tax credit, or address any errors.
Use the IRS tracker tools to check the status of your refund.
- Cybele Mayes-Osterman
WILL YOU RECEIVE UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME?
Places from Compton, California, to Richmond, Virginia, are trying out guaranteed income, or universal basic income programs, as researchers hope to get a fuller picture of what happens when a range of people are sent payments that guarantee a basic living, AP reported.
The pilot program which is funded by private donations, sees 100 county residents making less than $46,900 annually getting a boost of $500 a month for a year.
The income threshold was based on 80% of the county’s average median income, meaning it includes both the poor and a slice of the middle class — people who face financial stress but might not ordinarily qualify for government aid based on income.
- Julia Fields
HALF OF US STATES WILL END FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
The stimulus cash comes as half of US states have announced that they will end federal unemployment assistance before the September cut-off date.
It’s estimated that around 4million citizens will no longer receive the extra $300 payment.
- Cybele Mayes-Osterman
FAMILIES OF COLLEGE STUDENTS COULD GET $500
While college students did not qualify for stimulus checks, households that are eligible for the tax credits could get $500 for kids aged 18 to 24.
Two-parent families who make up to $150,000 combined will be eligible for the credit, as will families with a single "head of household" who makes up to $112,500 a year.
Single parents who make up to $75,000 will also be eligible for the credit.
Other factors considered are if the college student is dependent, with parents paying more than half of their expenses.
- Julia Fields
1.1MILLION PLUS-UP PAYMENTS SENT OUT
An additional 1.1million plus-up payments worth more than $2.5billion were part of the latest package.
The IRS has stated that these supplemental funds are "for people who earlier in March received payments based on their 2019 tax returns but are eligible for a new or larger payment based on their recently processed 2020 tax returns".
Americans may receive a plus-up payment if their income dropped over the past year compared to 2019 levels or if a dependent has been added to their tax return.
- Julia Fields
ANOTHER 2.3MILLION CHECKS SENT OUT
Another 2.3million stimulus checks were sent out to bank accounts on March 9, according to CBS.
Over one million payments were made via direct deposit while the rest were sent in the mail as paper checks.
Some Americans waited weeks for their payments as the IRS prioritized those who had filed their 2019 or 2020 tax returns.
- Julia Fields
THIRD OF AMERICAN'S INCOME STILL BELOW PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
Millions of additional stimulus checks were sent out to cash-strapped Americans in the last week to help them through the Covid-19 pandemic.
It comes as a TransUnion study revealed that a third of Americans said their income is still below pre-pandemic levels.
- Julia Fields
CHILD TAX CREDIT WEBSITE
A new Child Tax Credit website has been launched that provides Americans with all the details about the payments.
- Julia Fields
KAMALA HARRIS ON CHILD TAX CREDIT
And Kamala Harris said: “When more families know about how they can get relief, that is how we will be able to lift our children out of poverty.”
- Julia Fields
BIDEN'S TWEETS ABOUT THE CHILD TAX CREDIT
The White House said the aim was "to ensure parents know about the American Rescue Plan's historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit and how it will benefit their families."
Biden tweeted: “On July 15th, automatic payments from the Child Tax Credit will begin hitting bank accounts and mailboxes.
"For a working family with two kids: that’s $500 or more on the 15th of every month this year."
- Julia Fields
HOW TO DETERMINE CHILD'S AGE CATEGORY
Families with kids younger than six will be entitled to a monthly payment worth up to $300.
Households with dependents between the ages of six and 17 will receive a monthly $250 payment.
Your child's age category is based on their age on December 31 which could impact families with kids who are about to turn six years old in the coming months.
- Julia Fields
WHAT DID NONFILERS NEED TO PROVIDE TO RECEIVE CTC?
The second tool is targeted at low-income American families who do not normally file tax returns.
You don't have to file a tax return if you earn less than $12,200 a year as a single taxpayer or $24,400 as a married couple filing jointly.
Those eligible can use the new portal to provide the IRS with their name, address, and social security number.
- Julia Fields
FAMILIES EXPECTING CHILDREN CAN ALSO CLAIM
Families who are expecting a baby to arrive this year can also claim the child tax credit cash.
- Julia Fields
WHEN WILL THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT COME OUT?
The first check will be deposited in bank accounts on July 15 and there will be six monthly payments before the end of the year.
Right now, the payments are set to expire in 2022, but Biden has spoken of plans to extend until 2025 at least.
- Julia Fields
HOUSEHOLDS WITH ADOPTED CHILDREN CAN CLAIM CHILD TAX CREDIT
Households with adopted babies can also receive the checks providing they are US citizens.
The amount will be capped at $3,600 and is dependent on household income.
- Julia Fields
CALIFORNIA 'SLOW' TO DISTRIBUTE FUNDS
California has so far been slow to distribute its accrued funds.
The state has received $490 million in rental aid requests through May 31, but only $32 million has been paid out.
That doesn’t include the 12 cities and 10 counties that run their own rental assistance programs.
“It’s challenging to set up a new, big program overnight,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, a Democrat from San Francisco and chair of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
“It has been challenging to educate millions of struggling tenants and landlords on what the law is.”
- Julia Fields
'LARGEST RENT RELIEF'
“Nationwide this is certainly the largest rent relief there’s ever been,” Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, told the Time. “The big question is can we spend it all.”
- Julia Fields
WHO QUALIFIES FOR RENT FORGIVENESS?
The state’s rental relief program would be available to residents who earn no more than 80 percent of the median income in their area and who can prove financial hardships brought on by the pandemic.
In San Francisco, a family of four would have to earn less than $146,350 to qualify, the New York Times reports.
- Julia Fields
CALIFORNIA TO SET ASIDE FUNDS FOR UTILITY BILLS
In addition to rent forgiveness, the state is proposing to set aside $2 billion to pay for unpaid water and electricity bills, and also give an additional $12 billion back to taxpayers through stimulus checks worth $600 million to middle-class citizens.
- Julia Fields
CALIFORNIA INTRODUCES RENT FORGIVENESS PLAN
Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that California will pay off all of the unpaid rent that has accumulated in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.
The rent forgiveness plan, which would be on a scale never before seen in the US, comes as part of a $5.2 billion program currently in its final stages of negotiations at the State Legislature.
The program would pay 100 percent of unpaid rent that lower-income Californians incurred since last Spring and would be financed entirely by federal money.
- Julia Fields
HOW TO OPT OUT OF CHILD TAX CREDIT
Anyone wishing to opt-out can do so on the IRS' website via a tool called the Child Tax Credit Update Portal.
The tool allows people to un-enroll from the tax credit before the first payment is made on July 15.
The portal will be updated later this year to allow people to see their payment history and change their bank account information or mailing address.
- Julia Fields
WHO SHOULD OPT OUT OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT?
With the IRS relying on tax returns to determine payments, sometimes the agency doesn't have the most up-to-date information for you – including how much you earn or the number of children you have.
This could result in you either receiving payment when you aren't eligible or receiving less than you're actually entitled to.
Others may wish to opt-out to receive a bigger tax credit when they file their taxes next year, while divorced parents with children may wish to opt-out if their former spouse is set to claim their kids on their return.
- Julia Fields
WHAT HAPPENS IF A FAMILY MAKES MORE THAN THE INCOME THRESHOLD?
Families who exceed the designated thresholds will still receive some of the enhanced CTC.
They will be issued $50 less for every $1,000 over an income threshold until the enhanced payments are phased out for people who earn $20,000 more than those thresholds.
For instance, single filers who earn up to $95,000 and married couples with combined incomes of $170,000 would receive smaller payments, but above that, they would be excluded entirely from the expanded benefits.
However, families who earn above the thresholds may still qualify for the regular child tax credit.
The regular CTC of $2,000, taken annually on your tax return, is available to single parents who earn up to $200,000. Married couples earning up to $400,000 also qualify.
Anyone earning above that threshold doesn't qualify for any child tax credits.
- Julia Fields
HOW MANY AMERICAN FAMILIES QUALIFY?
On July 15, around 36 million American families will begin receiving the enhanced CTC payments, accounting for almost 90 percent of the nation's children.
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