Third stimulus check: are 17-year-olds eligible?
The third payment differs from the first two checks. If you're between the ages of 17 and 24 and missed out on the first two payments, what does that mean for you?
President Joe Biden has signed the latest economic relief package into law and the IRS is already sending the the third round of stimulus checks through direct deposit. In the new $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package plan eligible adults qualify for a $1,400 check and their dependents would add to the family's overall total, even those left out of the first two rounds of payments.
The third payment differs from the first two checks in its definition of an eligible dependent so, if you're between the ages of 17 and 24 and missed out on the first two payments, what does that mean for you?
To qualify for your own third stimulus check, you need to have filed your 2019 or 2020 taxes independently, which means no one else claimed you on their taxes as a dependent. You also had to have an adjusted gross income, or AGI, of under $75,000 to receive the full amount.
How can a 17 to 24-year-olds get their own check?
If you became financially independent in 2020, and you file your 2020 tax return in spring 2021 independently, you'll receive the first stimulus check of up to $1,200 and the second check of up to $600 sometime in 2021 on your tax refund, according to Janet Holtzblatt of the Tax Policy centre. People in this age bracket must file their tax return for 2020 and claim the money as Recovery Rebate Credit, so long as you meet the regular eligibility criteria for a stimulus payment.
If you're filing taxes independently, the amount of money you would get in a second stimulus payment would depend on your adjusted gross income, which you can also find on your taxes, however if a parent or guardian claims you as a dependent on their taxes, you won't get a check of your own. People in the 17-to-24 age range likely won't get any money allocated toward their family's payment either.
For a third stimulus payment, if you're in the 17-to-24 age range and listed as a dependent, you will be eligible for a payment of up to $1,400. That money will then be added to your family's total.
College students
If you're unmarried, you don't claim children as your own dependents, your parents provide you with financial support equal to or greater than half of your annual income and you made less than $4,200 in 2019 or less than $4,300 in 2020, then your parents can still claim you as their dependent.
If you work or attend college full-time (or both), rely on your parents or guardians for more than half of your financial support and made less than $4,200 in 2019 you likely still meet the requirements to count as a dependent. If you're a full-time student under the age of 24 who resides with a parent or guardian while not in school you are also a dependent,
However, many dependents still have to file tax returns, too. Income for dependents falls into two categories: earned income (money earned from working) and unearned income (money earned from investments like the stock market). Those requirements for filing are based on income, so if dependents are receiving either earned or unearned income, they will need to file a tax return or their parents will need to file a tax return for them.
People enlisted in the US armed forces
If you're age 17 or older and have enlisted in the US armed forces, you're considered emancipated from your parents or guardians and would file taxes independently. Therefore, you would be eligible for your own stimulus check if you met the requirements.