How To Get The New Stimulus Check

005-stimulus-piggy-bank-tear-falling-money-clip-weighing-cash-scale — Stimulus check requirements for the third round are more generous and stringent at the same time. We'll explain.
Sarah Tew/CNET

The third stimulus checks are hitting the 130 million mark bydirect deposit andby mail as paper checks andEIP cards. A third wave of checks is ramping up for this weekend and next week. If your check for up to $1,400 per household member hasn't come yet, it's a good idea to triple-check your eligibility. If you do, here's how to track your payment and what to doif there's a problem with your check.

The requirements for the third payment have changed significantly from thefirst and second checks. For example, there arenew income limits and rules forage, citizenship and tax status that can affect the size of your payment. We'll walk you through what those qualifications are to help you determine whether you should expect a check -- or whether you'll be completely left out. (And here's how to calculate the amount to expect.)

Additionally, here's how toclaim any missing stimulus money orfile a payment trace if you need to. We'll also explain some other, less common scenarios, with details fornonfilers,people with babies born in 2020 and families inchild support situations. (By the way, here's what we know about afourth stimulus check.) This story was updated recently.

Important: Third stimulus check qualification details

The third stimulus checks now going out open up more avenues for people to claim a payment -- so long as their yearly earnings in 2019 or 2020 fall within the brackets for receiving the third check. These new payments come with changes to the income limit for individuals and families who'd qualify for a full stimulus payment -- it isn't the same as it was for the first two rounds of checks approved in 2020. Check out the chart below for more anduse our stimulus calculator to estimate how much you could get.

Third stimulus check: Qualifications

Qualifying group	What the law says
Individuals	An AGI of less than $80,000 to qualify for any payment amount
Head of household	An AGI of less than $120,000 to qualify for any payment amount
Couple filing jointly	An AGI of less than $160,000 to qualify for any payment amount
Dependents of all ages	$1,400 apiece, no cap -- but only if guardians make under the above limits
Families with mixed US citizenship	Provided they meet other qualifications
US citizens living abroad	Yes, same as first two checks
Citizens of US territories	Yes, same as first two checks, with payments handled by each territory
SSDI and other tax nonfilers	Yes, but may require an extra step to claim (more below)
Incarcerated people	Yes, included this time
People who owe child support	Checks can't be garnished to cover past due payments (more below)
Disqualified groups	Not covered by law
Non-US citizens	"Resident aliens" aren't included
Noncitizens who pay taxes	Depends on "mixed-status" rules (more below)

Social Security, SSI, SSDI, veterans: What you need to know about eligibility and your stimulus payment

The majority of people who are part of theSSI or SSDI programs qualify for a check -- read our guide for details. This time, many will get their payments on their existing Direct Express card, though some may receive stimulus money a different way. Consult our guide for more on what to know and do, including if you need toclaim a dependent by filing a tax return for 2020.

Stimulus money for veterans who don't usually file taxes are expected to receive their stimulus checks in mid-April, after many Social Security recipients. Here's more to know about veterans and stimulus eligibility.

Recipients of the first check received their payments through a non-Direct Express bank account or as apaper check sent in the mail. In theDecember bill, these recipients again qualified to receive payments, along with Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Administration beneficiaries.

Now playing: Watch this: Stimulus check 3: How much money you'll get

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Are my dependents eligible with this check?

As a rule, dependents are not eligible for their own checks, but they do contribute to the total your household can receive. In many cases, it can multiple your family's total. (Here's who the IRS considers an adult who receives their own check.)

In the third stimulus check, dependents of every age count toward $1,400. If you're a parent of a baby born in 2020, you could be entitled to $1,100 if you never received the first two payments for your new dependent last year. You can also get $1,400 for a baby born in 2021. Note that if your household exceeds the strict income limits, you won't receive any stimulus check money, even if you have dependents.

With the second stimulus check approved in December, each child dependent -- age 16 and younger -- added $600 each to the household payment. There was no cap on how many children you could claim a payment. That was an increase in the amount per child from the $500 that was part of the first check approved last March as part of the CARES Act, even as the per-adult maximum decreased from $1,200 per adult to $600 in the December stimulus plan.

028-cash-money-stimulus-checks-bill-passed-congress-1400-dollars-payment-target-supplement-bullseye-2021-biden — The final qualifications for a third stimulus check have been settled.
Sarah Tew/CNET

Citizenship: Does the IRS consider my household mixed-status?

In the$900 billion stimulus package from December, a US citizen and noncitizen spouse were botheligible for a payment as long as they both had Social Security numbers. This has been referred to as a "mixed-status" household when it comes to citizenship. Households withmixed US citizenship were left out of the first check.

The new stimulus bill includesall mixed-status households where just one member has a Social Security number for athird stimulus check. That potentially includes families with citizen children and noncitizen parents.

In the CARES Act from last March, households with a person whowasn't a US citizen weren't eligible to receive a stimulus check, even if one spouse and a child were US citizens.

Eligibility details for noncitizens and the $1,400 stimulus payment

The CARES Act made a Social Security number a requirement for that first stimulus payment. Though other proposals would've expanded the eligibility to those with an ITIN instead of a Social Security number because they're classified asa resident or nonresident alien, this group was excluded in the final bill text that authorized a second stimulus check in December as well.

The new bill expands the qualifications to include all mixed-status families -- where at least one member has a Social Security number -- for a third check.

money-dollars-bills-sock-american-flag — The definition of a child dependent didn't change with a second stimulus check, but it does with the third.
Angela Lang/CNET

Can past-due child support affect my stimulus total?

If you owed child support, your first stimulus payment could have been taken for arrears (the amount you owed). With the second check, those who owed child support didn't have their payment garnished to cover past-due payments. The new bill with the $1,400 paymentdoesn't exclude garnishments, so your check could be garnished to pay a private past-due debt.

One more exception for people who are missing payments of any amount and need to claim the stimulus money as a Recovery Rebate Credit in their taxes: The protection from garnishment laid out in the second check doesn't extend to catch-up payments made in the Recovery Rebate Credit, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent government agency that works with the IRS. That means that all or part of stimulus money received this way could potentially be seized to pay outstanding debts. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is urging the IRS to keep rebate credits intact.

Yes, inmates can receive stimulus money

After months of back and forth, the IRS was ordered by a federal judge tosend the first stimulus checks to people who are incarcerated. They are included in the new law, which means they'll qualify for the $1,400 check.

The IRS classifies me as an older adult. What should I know?

Manyolder adults, including retirees over age 65, received a first stimulus check under the CARES Act and were eligible for the second one -- and are for the third as well. For older adults and retired people, factors likeyour tax filings,your AGI, your pension and if you're part of theSSI or SSDI program (more below) will affect whether you receive a stimulus payment.

The third stimulus check makes older adult dependents eligible to receive more money on behalf of the household. Here's how to determine if you qualify for your own stimulus check or count as a dependent.

coins-measuring-spoons — How much stimulus money you could get depends on who you are.
Angela Lang/CNET

Nonfilers: You may need to file your 2020 tax return this year to get the right stimulus check amount

If you need to add a dependent the IRS doesn't know about, you'll need to file a simple 2020 tax return to claim them. You may also be able to get missing money for the first two checks as well, byclaiming it on your taxes in 2021 as a Recovery Rebate Credit.

With the second payment, the IRS used your 2019 tax returns to determine eligibility. Nonfilers, who weren't required to file a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019, maystill be eligible to receive the first stimulus check under the CARES Act. And this group will qualify again. Here are reasons you might not have been required to file:

You're over 24, you're not claimed as a dependent and your income is less than $12,200.
You're married filing jointly and together your income is less than $24,400.
You have no income.
You receive federal benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. See below for more on SSDI.

Taxes and stimulus check eligibility: The two go hand-in-hand

For most people,taxes and stimulus checks are tightly related. For example, the most important factor in setting income limits is yourAGI, which determines how much of the total stimulus payment you would be entitled to receive. The same holds true with a third stimulus check.

$1,400 stimulus check income limits

	Full $1,400 per person maximum (based on AGI)	Not eligible (based on AGI)
Single taxpayer	Less than $75,000	$80,000 or more
Head of household	Less than $112,500	$120,000 or more
Married couple filing jointly	Less than $150,000	$160,000 or more

Here's what we know about whether Congress will use your 2019 tax information to determine your payment or if it will look at your 2020 tax returns to set your check amount -- and what happens if you get too much money or not enough because of it.

For more information, here's how to track your stimulus payment, every way the stimulus bill benefits you and what to know about the 2021 child tax credit.