stimulus check pa

Stimulus Check Pa - Congress passed the long-awaited $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package known as the American Rescue Plan Act. But what benefits are you entitled to? We break everything.

Congress passed the long-awaited $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package known as the American Rescue Plan Act, with help for individuals, industries and other groups across the country, as well as in Pennsylvania and New Jersey specifically.

Stimulus Check Pa

"This is the most popular economic bailout of my lifetime," Representative Brendan Boyle, Democrat of Philadelphia, said Wednesday. "For the American people, help is finally on the way."

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The package includes additional economic impact payments for many individuals, extended unemployment benefits, health insurance provisions and aid for schools, transit agencies, vaccine distribution and much more.

You'll get a total stimulus check of $1,400 if you earn up to $​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​,--, a year.

If you earn more than that, your stimulus check will be lower. And you won't get a check if you make $80,000 or more a year, are the head of a household that makes at least $120,000, or file jointly as a couple on $160,000.

» READ MORE: Stimulus Q&A: Who will get $1,400 and when? Can my stimulus money be used for debt?

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If you have not received economic impact payments in the past but were eligible, you may be able to get a credit on your 2020 taxes. Up to eight million households were eligible for earlier payments but did not receive them because of issues such as processing delays and application issues, according to a Treasury Department fact sheet.

To claim your credit, you must complete the "Recovery Rebate Credit" section on line 30 of the 2020 Form 1040, which can be found on the Internal Revenue Service website. For more information, visit the IRS Economic Impact Payment website or the IRS Taxpayer Advocate website. The amount of your tax credit will vary depending on your individual circumstances, so talk to your accountant.

» READ MORE: Stimulus bill ready to send $1,400 checks to millions left over from first payments

The relief package also offers help to parents, primarily through increased SNAP benefits, increased tax credits for children, and stimulus checks for dependents.

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If you earn less than $65,000 a year—putting you in the bottom 60%—you could see an 11% increase in your income from the combination of relief checks and tax credits, according to estimates from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

It's especially good news if your retirement plan fails. The new stimulus package marks $86 billion to bail out about 200 failed pension plans nationwide, which could secure full pension payments for about a million retirees and workers nationwide.

The pension rescue plan provides money to bankrupt pensioners directly from the US Treasury as grants, not as originally proposed loans. So, if your pension is in one of these plans, you will receive 100% of the pension benefits you have earned.

If your retirement benefits are cut, there's help, too. In 2014, Congress allowed pension plans to mark down benefits for current retirees as a way to save money for future retirees — and about 20 funds have done so. This new legislation restores cut benefits and accounts for past losses, according to the staff of Rep. Richard E. Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.

There Are 17 States Including Pa. Giving Out Inflation Relief Checks: Find Out Here If You Qualify

» READ MORE: Congress bails out troubled pension plans for Philly-area truckers, Acme carpenters, electricians and others

If you receive the additional federal unemployment benefit of $300 per week, this program has been extended. And federal taxes will be exempt on up to the first $10,200 of these benefits received in 2020 for people with adjusted gross income of less than $150,000.

It also extends benefits from the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program and the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (PEUC). PEUC is designed to help you if you have already exhausted your state benefits; the latest legislation would extend it up to 48 weeks. The PUA, in turn, helps self-employed, temporary and contract workers who are financially affected by the pandemic and is extended for up to 74 weeks, reports Forbes.

If you need insurance or want to pay less for your plan, help may be just around the corner. The stimulus package will help subsidize COBRA coverage and strengthen the Affordable Care Act, which has "served as a safety net" during the pandemic, says Krutika Amin, associate director of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Specifically: the market tax credits created by the ACA will increase and more people will be able to use them this year and next. ACA tax credits vary based on your age, location and income level, and until now you were only eligible if you were within about 400% of the federal poverty level (about $51,000 for an individual). The new stimulus package removes that cap, making more people eligible for reduced health insurance premiums. Older adults may see the most significant benefit, as insurance prices can increase dramatically if you are in that group and were not previously eligible for a claim.

You will not have to pay 2020 tax credits if your income is higher than estimated during application. This can affect you if you have unpredictable income during the pandemic. And right now, the ACA marketplace, as well as state marketplaces like Pennie in Pennsylvania and Get Covered NJ in New Jersey, are open for a COVID-19 enrollment period through mid-May — so you can apply if you lose coverage. Pandemic or change your selection if you have already made one.

If you were recently laid off, the COBRA grants under the new stimulus package may save you from finding a new plan. It subsidizes the full cost of COBRA if you are eligible and can stay on your employer's health plan for 18 months. Typically, COBRA enrollees require employees to pay the full premium of an employer's health plan, leading to underutilization due to high costs.

That's about $25 billion in aid for restaurants and bars, but it's unclear how that will be distributed across the region.

Is Pennsylvania Getting Another Stimulus Check?

There is also about $1.25 billion earmarked for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), which helps venues, promoters and other types of performance spaces — such as local theaters — that have been closed during the pandemic. Previously, club and theater owners had to choose to apply for funds from SVOG or "PPP2" loans, but now they can use the loans to continue operations while they wait for money from SVOG.

» READ MORE: See what Pennsylvania and New Jersey will gain from the $1.9 trillion stimulus package

Local schools, transit agencies and local governments, along with other groups, also get some money. Pennsylvania will receive about $13.7 billion in state and local aid, with about $1.1 billion going to Philadelphia, and New Jersey getting $10.2 billion, the House Oversight Committee says.

K-12 schools in Pennsylvania, for example, will receive about $5.1 billion in aid, as well as additional money for universities and colleges. New Jersey's K-12 schools will receive $2.7 billion. The bills allow schools to spend the money to hire staff, avoid layoffs and upgrade ventilation systems.

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There is also help for renters. Pennsylvania will also receive $670 million in emergency rental assistance, while New Jersey will receive $466 million. More than half of the population of Philadelphia and Camden are renters, so help is essential to combat an eviction crisis, said Rachel Garland, managing attorney for the housing unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

The vaccine effort will also receive money. Nationwide, there is an estimated $14 billion for vaccines and $7.6 billion to hire 100,000 public health workers to distribute them — though details on how that money might be spent locally are unclear. But in Pennsylvania, there is $60 million in funding to help vaccines and education for seniors, as well as food and support for caregivers.

In addition, Pennsylvania will receive about $1.28 billion for transit aid, with $650 million going to SEPTA and $115 million to Philadelphia International Airport. The new state budget for Pennsylvania, which was signed last week by Governor Tom Wolf, allocates an additional $140 million for the state's property tax and rent rebate program - which appears to be the new stimulus check idea that many states and multiple iterations happen in versions. That means the state's $45.2 billion budget will increase payments to eligible beneficiaries across the state by 70% for the year.

The budget changes come after state Rep. Joe Ciresi, a Democrat who represents Montgomery, introduced legislation to "significantly expand" the program.

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"Pennsylvania residents are struggling to pay for basic needs, including housing, due to rising inflation," it said in a statement in June. "Although inflation has increased, the income limits of the Rent Reimbursement Program have stagnated