Fourth Stimulus Check Update: More Money Arriving For Those Due Direct Payments

The chances a fourth stimulus check will be coming to Americans remain slim as the government seems to be focusing on targeting other areas of the economy when it comes to relief, but for some, there is still potential good news on the horizon—they could still be eligible for money if they didn’t initially receive it.

While Americans continue to urge Congress to take action and either provide other rounds of stimulus checks or make some provisions that can automatically trigger payments to Americans or to force a more permanent version of the Expanded Child Tax Credit, which has been on the chopping block while negotiating the Build Back Better Plan, there are Americans who are eligible for other cash—even if they don’t know it. According to Yahoo! News, some who have welcomed new babies in 2021 qualify for the third stimulus check payment of $1,400.

Those who choose to inform the Internal Revenue Service of their child’s birth when they file their 2021 taxes next year can also receive the check then as part of those taxes. This is in addition to the expanded child tax credits for this year, which will also give them access to the full $3,600 credit.

Parents will also be eligible for the Expanded Child Tax Credit for an additional year, provided it isn’t cut from the Build Back Better Plan. While the Biden Administration had initially hoped to extend the Credit until 2025, the cut was made as part of a concession to try and get more Moderate Democrats on board with the reconciliation bill. With the plan still set to potentially continue through 2022, those new parents, as well as those with children who were also already receiving the payments, will continue to receive funds.

Calls for additional checks continue to gain steam among Americans who are not eligible for the child tax credits however, as many worry that rising inflation and the ending of most pandemic-related aid will once again put them in a state of financial insecurity, after the stimulus checks, unemployment, tax credits and eviction moratoriums allowed some to stay afloat for an additional year.

A study by the Capital One Insights Center found that many who benefitted from the checks handed out by both President Biden’s administration and former President Donald Trump are struggling again, with those in the lowest income earning brackets reporting that they have already resorted to having to borrow money from friends and family to help take care of their bills since pandemic aid ran out. Among ways that they have also been affected have been the costs of child care, with 50% of the low-income earning group reporting that they were forced to either cut back on work hours or give up their jobs entirely in order to take care of children, while 30% of a middle-income group reported the same thing. By comparison, only 18% of the highest income earners reported such a struggle.

Other studies have also further indicated that pandemic aid also caused a decline in the supplemental poverty rate (from 11.8% to 9.1%), decreased financial instability by 43% and also decreased household food shortages by 42%.