Your Second Stimulus Check Might Be Smaller with These Situations

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is set to talk for the coronavirus relief proposal this week, which does not include a second stimulus check. If a plan has been approved, you may need to wait a little longer. 

On Sunday, Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican member of the bipartisan group, told Fox News, "There may be a stimulus check, but that would be part of a different piece of legislation." 

Negotiations will fall under President-elect Joe Biden's administration if talks on the second stimulus check tip into 2021. According to CNET, if Congress signed another cash payment for individuals and families, not everyone will receive the entire sum.

If the stimulus qualifications change in the next bill, or if there's a circumstance in your life that has altered, the amount of money you could see in your stimulus check could be smaller.

Read also: How Next Round of Stimulus Checks May Help Paycheck-to-Paycheck Families

What to know about stimulus checks

The IRS used your most recent federal tax return for most of your first stimulus checks in March. However, some qualified individuals for a check experienced personal or financial changes after you filed that could affect your future payment one way or another. Here are some of the instances that might lead you to a smaller amount of stimulus check, according to CNET: 

You started a new job or earned more money

The first and second stimulus check will cut off if your adjusted gross income (AGI), including assets that fall outside your usual paycheck, goes above a specific income limit. Any changes in your AGI could be reduced or increase the size of your stimulus check. 

For instance, you got the exact $1,2000 per qualified adult with the first stimulus check as your AGI was under your income limit. But you are promoted or got a new job that pays more; your stimulus check might be smaller in the next round since the IRS pays out a sliding scale. However, this is a "good" problem to have.

You have fewer child dependents today

Age is one of the crucial factors in determining the stimulus money a household could get. Older adults are entitled to a stimulus check. In the first round of stimulus payments, a family is given an extra $500 for each "child dependent," a legal minor 16 years old or younger. 

The IRS definition of a child dependent for your taxes is not the same as the terms used for stimulus checks. As a child dependent for the IRS is 23 years old or under, and is financially reliant on the tax filer

Any older dependents you claimed for the first check may have aged out if the rules stay the same, which means you could get $500 less.

Changed how to claim your dependents or you have any child support

You could use any stimulus check you receive wherever you like, for the most part. But there is one exception indicated in the CAREs Act from March, which has something to do with child support. You might garnish some or all of your stimulus check if you owe child support to your kid's other parent. 

You are behind on payments to creditors or banks

Usually, your stimulus money cannot be garnished paying rent or federal tax. But there are other exceptions, including child situations. If these rules do not change with the next stimulus bill, therefore, there are two categories; private banks and creditors, who could seize all or part of your money from the first stimulus check, likely the same with the second round.

Read also: Without Stimulus Money, These Essential Programs Will Evaporate