Analyst Explains How Some Families Would Get Relief Checks As Big As $14 Thousand

Congressional Democrats have decided that they no longer need any validation from Republicans to push ahead with a nearly $2 trillion coronavirus bill.

This package includes larger than ever stimulus checks worth $1,400 for those earning less than $75,000 a year, and a significant expansion of the Child Tax Credit. That means some families could be cashing in checks as big as $14,000!

Under legislation the House is poised to pass Friday evening, most American parents would receive $3,000 a year for every child ages 6 to 17 and $3,600 a year for every child under age 6. Families are normally entitled to up to $2,000 annually in refundable tax credits per child, an amount that was doubled by Republicans in 2017 with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The fully promised $1,400 cash payment would go to any individual earning $75,000 (or couples earning less than $150,000), as well as their dependents. The checks would phase out faster than previous rounds, cutting off individuals who earn more than $100,000 and couples earning more than $200,000.

A Washington policy analyst, Ed Mills, explained how families could recieve the maximum payout: A family of four earning below $150,000 will get the standard $1,400 per person as well as the $2,400 they received from the bill passed in December. Then they would recieve the boosted Child Tax Credit coming in at about $6,000- $7,000.

Mills said, “This support from the federal government is not offset by any tax increases, as it has the goal of stimulating the economy. We are in the middle of a new fiscal experiment, aimed at targeting support toward the bottom portion of the K-shaped recovery.”