Second stimulus check calculator: how much would my HEROES Act payment be?
Calculate how much you would be entitled to as part of the coronavirus Economic Impact Payment scheme proposed by the HEROES Act.
As part of the CARES Act, a $2.2tn relief bill passed in March, millions of Americans have been receiving Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) of up to $1,200 to help them cope with the financial effects of a pandemic that has led over 40 million people in the United States to apply for unemployment benefits in the past 10 weeks.
Second stimulus check proposed in HEROES Act
However, several polls have shown that many in the US are going to need further financial support, and with this in mind the Democrat-backed HEROES Act, a $3tn dollar package that passed the House of Representatives in mid-May, proposes giving eligible Americans a second EIP, or stimulus check.
Up to $1,200 each, $1,200 per dependent
Like the CARES Act, individuals earning below $75,000 a year would be paid $1,200, while people on up to $99,000 annually would get a check for a steadily lower amount, depending on their exact pay. Married joint tax filers whose shared income is below $150,000 would get $2,400.
However, while the first round of payments included an extra $500 per family for every child aged 16 or under, the HEROES Act would up this credit to $1,200 each for a maximum of three dependents, allowing households to claim up to $6,000.
It’s also worth noting that, unlike the CARES Act, dependents aged 17 or over are not excluded.
Calculate how much your HEROES Act check would be:
(Calculator created by Mateusz Tkaczyk and Jasmine J Mah)
HEROES Act faces opposition in GOP-controlled Senate
It should be noted, though, that the HEROES Act faces an uphill battle to get through the GOP-controlled Senate in its current form, with both the White House and Senate Republicans branding it “dead on arrival” at the upper chamber.
What’s more, a fresh coronavirus relief package may not happen right away. Speaking last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) said: "You could anticipate the decision being made on whether to go forward [with a stimulus bill] in about a month."
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On Tuesday, Republican Senator Roy Blunt added: "My personal belief is we will do something before the August break - that's about the right timing."
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