Fourth Stimulus Check Update: New Checks Coming in November? Status Of Next Direct Payments

Some have continued to hold out hope that a fourth stimulus check could be on the way, as rising costs due to inflation lead to more struggles for families that still have yet to recover from the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, even as Congress moves to pass other legislation which provides other relief and aid to the country, a direct payment is not in cards—and no one should expect to see a check deposited in their accounts in November.

While the House officially passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Friday, which is not heading to president Joe Biden’s desk to become law and will fund work on road, bridges, ports and internet upgrades around the country, the Build Back Better Plan, which provides funding for more social programs, remains stalled, meaning that anything resembling stimulus aid is also not yet official.

Among the elements of the Build Back Better Plan, which was trimmed from a $3 trillion package to a $1.75 trillion one, were paid family leave, free community college, dental and vision Medicare coverage and lower prescription drug prices. Those were cut, while programs like money to tackle the climate crisis, expand Medicare benefits, provide universal pre-K and expand the Child Tax Credits were still left in the plan. Those programs also faced some cuts, with the Expanded Child Tax Credits only getting a one-year extension, instead of the initial three-year timeline.

While it remains stalled in the House, where it needs support from Moderate Democrats before it can advance to the Senate, where it is also likely to face steep opposition, additional aid in the form of the Child Tax Credits is also on pause. While two more payments will be deposited into bank accounts on Nov. 15 and Dec. 15 of this year, the additional year of payments in 2022 could be at risk if the bill is not passed before the end of 2021.

A stimulus check is not a part of the bill, meaning that the legislation won’t hold up any sort of payments on that end, similarly to how a deadlocked Congress stalled a second stimulus check in 2020.

While a stimulus check doesn’t appear to be on the table, some can still get additional money, in the form of an unpaid $1,400 check from the American Rescue Plan. Those who have had a baby since those payments were distributed in March can collect payment on behalf of their newborn child.