Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Why More $1,400 Checks Are Being Sent, Who’s Eligible

Calls for a fourth stimulus check may not be receiving an answer anytime soon, but there is good news for some who never received a third Economic Impact Payment—2.2 million new checks for $1,400 have now been sent by the IRS.

According to CNBC, the new payments were sent out to those who were eligible for the check, but who did not previously get them because the IRS did have information on file for them. Those 1.3 million payments, with a value of $2.6 billion, were going to those who recently filed a tax return, which allowed the IRS to track them down and send the funds.

Other payments included supplemental amounts or “plus-up” payments for those who had received the initial payments based on their 2019 tax returns but were now eligible for more money after filing their 2020 returns.

These come on the heels of the first Expanded Child Tax Credit payments going out to eligible parents. Those payments, which are going to go out monthly through December, and will see $300 deposited per child under the age of 6, as well as $250 per child ages 6-17. The credit will net $1,800 in payments max during this time, and parents will be able to claim the remainder on their 2021 taxes.

Calls to make those payments permanent have already been made, and while that hasn’t been approved, the Biden Administration does want to try and expand the credits to 2025.

In addition, teachers in some districts and states are also standing to earn some extra money, as schools decide what to do with the $190 billion in stimulus funds that were sent out to them. While not every district or state has approved the funds going to teachers and other school staff, some have approved $1,000 “thank you” bonuses for the work teachers did to adapt during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Americans still have some hope for a fourth stimulus check, or some other form of stabilizing payment. A petition for more money has continued to gain steam online, which asks for automatic monthly payments of $2,000 if certain economic factors are met. The petition currently sits at 2.6 million signatures.