Your Guide to the COVID-19 Federal Stimulus Checks

To help Americans ride out the coronavirus crisis, the federal government is currently sending out Economic Impact Payments, commonly being referred to as stimulus checks. You are eligible for a check if you are not listed as a dependent on someone's taxes, are a U.S. citizen or legal resident and have an income below $99,000 as a single taxpayer or $146,500 as a head of household ($198,000 is the cutoff for couples filing jointly, who do not have children).  The amount is based on your 2018 or 2019 tax return.

Most People will Receive $1200

For everyone whose income is less than $75,000, payments will be $1200, with $500 extra for every child that they have under 16. Those living on social security, who do not normally file taxes, will automatically receive the highest amount, $1200.

For those above $75,000, the amount reduces proportionately by income and number of dependents. You can calculate your exact payment here.

Payments will be disbursed both by direct deposit and paper check over the coming weeks

If you have direct deposit set up with the IRS, you should receive your payment that way. Those started being distributed in the middle of April to about 88 million Americans.

If you do not have direct deposit, you will receive a paper check. The IRS started issuing those last week, and plans to send 5 million checks a week until all eligible Americans receive their payment.  The IRS estimates it could take several months for everyone to receive it.

The schedule for distribution is based on income, with those at the lowest end of the spectrum prioritized first for receiving payment. You can check the IRS website for more information including your direct deposit information here.  

Self-reported progress and information is available

Here at Skip, we are also providing self-reported information on the stimulus checks distribution progress. Similar to our other loan and unemployment trackers, our goal is to help people understand how much progress is being made while providing important updates and resources.

Whether you have received your stimulus check or not, you can check out our free self-tracker here.