There has been some talk about a fourth stimulus check swirling around and how it differs from President Biden’s American Families Plan.
Both could provide some form of payment and benefits to American families but are they considered the same thing?
The short answer is no.
Biden’s American Families Plan is a piece of proposed legislation that needs to be approved by Congress before it will become law — and the benefits get paid to you. Media outlets have been touting the proposed benefits as a type of “fourth stimulus,” as many families are slated to receive money this year in addition to the other three stimulus payments already doled out.
This money will largely be for parents, in the form of an extended Child Tax Credit. This tax credit will give payments out to parents from July until December, for children up to the age of 17, as a part of the American Rescue Plan COVID relief and stimulus package.
This has been labeled as a form of “fourth stimulus” for those who were able to take advantage of it, as it is a temporary benefit included in the COVID stimulus and relief bill. Important to note, this is a separate piece of legislation that was passed as part of the American Rescue Plan and is entirely separate from the American Families Plan introduced last week.
Biden is proposing to extend this temporary credit until 2025 by making it a part of his new legislation, the American Families Plan, essentially borrowing the credit from one plan and transferring it to another.
This extended tax credit would not be available to as many people as a stimulus check would be. This particular credit is available to parents only.
There have also been some details on bonus payments for those who received a stimulus check based on a 2019 tax return but had changes on their 2020 return that qualify them for additional money. This bonus is linked to the stimulus payments and is available to those citizens whether or not they have children.
As far as another stimulus check is concerned, there is no official information just yet as to if it will happen at all.