Stimulus checks should start going out this week but timing could slide, administration official says
“The timing could be more challenging this time, but the IRS could likely begin to get the money out in January,” said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Trump signaled in a statement Sunday night that he had signed the bill only after securing a commitment for the Senate to consider legislation to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, did not reference that commitment in his own statement Sunday night praising the President for signing the relief bill.
That vote required a two-thirds majority to pass since it took place under a suspension of the rules, a threshold that meant it would need a wide margin of bipartisan support to be approved. Now McConnell must decide whether to bring the provision to the Senate floor, when many Republicans in his ranks have made it clear they don’t think an increase is warranted given how much it would increase the cost of the stimulus bill.
As with that first round, the new payments will start phasing out for individuals with adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000, and those making more than $99,000 won’t receive anything. The income thresholds would be doubled for couples.
The new round of checks is also expected to put considerable pressure on the IRS during a time when the agency is preparing for the upcoming tax filing season and more staff may be on leave than usual due to the holidays.
This story has been updated to note the House passed a measure Monday to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000.
CNN’s Katie Lobosco and Clare Foran contributed to this report.
