14 May We’re not getting a stimulus payment. Why not?

Q. My husband and I are on disability and we haven’t received our stimulus check. People are saying it’s because our son-in-law filed us on his 2019 taxes. Is this true?
— Feeling it’s not fair

A. It’s true.

Under the CARES Act, people who are claimed as dependents on someone else’s tax return won’t get a stimulus check.

This goes for folks like you, but also for college students and other children over the age of 16 who are claimed as dependents, even if they file their own tax returns.

There could be new benefits ahead, though.

Democratic lawmakers have come up with a new stimulus package. Among the benefits are a new round of stimulus payments that would include $2,400 for a married couple ($1,200 for singles) with another $1,200 per qualifying dependent. It would max out at $6,000 per family.

Married couples who file jointly and earn up to $150,000 and singles who earn up to $75,000 would be eligible for the full benefit, while couples earning up to $198,000 and singles who earn up to $99,000 would get a partial benefit.

The legislation would also amend the CARES Act and retroactively pay $500 per dependent for people like you who were left out of the original bill.

But — and this is a big but — this was only the Democrats’ plan. It remains to be seen whether Republicans would be on board. Republican leadership has suggested it would like to wait longer before considering new stimulus — and it has different priorities — so we expect to see a big negotiation in the weeks ahead.

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This story was originally published on May 14, 2020.

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