PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- The IRS began sending direct deposits to millions of Americans for this round of stimulus payments from the new federal COVID-19 relief measure, according to the Treasury Department.
"The initial direct deposit payments may begin arriving as early as tonight for some and will continue into next week," read a Tuesday press release from the Treasury. "Paper checks will begin to be mailed tomorrow, Wednesday, December 30."
Most people who received stimulus money when the government sent out payments last spring should expect to see it this time, too. Single people who earned $75,000 or less in 2019 will get the full $600, as will married couples who make less than $150,000 a year. Dependent children age 16 or younger will get $600, too.
The amount is reduced by $5 for every $100 over those income thresholds. For example, someone who made $87,000 or more, or a couple who made $174,000 or more, would get nothing.
The method of payment used last time will be the same this time, too. Most people will get a direct deposit, and others will get checks in the mail. Those checks aren’t expected to be sent out until next week.
Democrats in Congress are working to increase the amount. President Donald Trump has said he wants to see it bumped up to $2,000 per person, but a vote on that is being blocked in the Senate.
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On CNBC, Sen. Pat Toomey said he doesn’t agree with sending checks to most people, especially those who haven’t been hurt financially by the pandemic.
"Most people who want to be working actually are working, and most Americans at this point are not experiencing a reduction in their income," he said.
He says the approach needs to be more targeted toward people with real hardships, and the government shouldn’t be sending checks to couples who are making six figures
If the $2,000 figure were to get congressional approval, another round of payments would go out after this one.
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