KEY POINTS

  • New parents can receive an additional $1,400 check
  • The payment may not come until after the 2021 tax filing
  • Families who gave birth or adopted a child in 2020 could also receive more checks

While the $1,400 stimulus payments that are part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan should be hitting bank accounts via direct deposits or checks soon, parents who gave birth or adopted a child in 2020 could be be eligible for an additional $1,400 amount by claiming the Recovery Rebate Credit.

And parents may be entitled to that additional $1,400 payment even if they’re still pregnant, a Democratic aide confirmed.

Lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives approved President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Feb. 10. The American Rescue Plan includes a third round of stimulus payments for most Americans, with an additional amount for every dependent.

The funds would not arrive until after parents file their 2021 taxes, but new parents would have to meet the income eligibility requirements for receiving the stimulus payments to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, the Democratic aide told Fortune.

Taxpayers who received their payments but believe they received only partial amounts, or simply didn't receive their payments at all, for whatever reason, should contact the IRS or review their IRS online account.

Currently, individual taxpayers making up to $75,000 per year qualify for the full $1,400 check or direct deposit, while married couples filing jointly and earning less than $150,000 can get the $2,800 payments.

Unlike the two previous rounds of economic aid, the Biden administration’s relief payments phase out for single taxpayers earning over $80,000 and couples making more than $160,000.

The $1,400 payments are expected to be sent to 85% of Americans. The IRS and the Treasury Department began sending out payments via direct deposit on March 12, and more are expected to be sent out in the coming weeks.

The IRS set up the Get My Payment tool to allow Americans to see the status of their payments, including their eligibility and when the relief aid would be sent. The tool is updated daily.

Stimulus payments sent through the mail could come not only in the the form of a paper check but also via an Economic Impact Payment (EIP) Card.

Stimulus Checks
Economic stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center May 8, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One hundred and thirty million households are eligible to receive a tax rebate check under the $168 billion economic stimulus plan. Jeff Fusco/Getty Images
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