Inside the stimulus: help with rent, loan forgiveness, unemployment tax breaks
A new stimulus bill has been signed into law this week. The new bill provides a much anticipated stimulus payment and updates to unemployment that should provide direct relief to millions. The stimulus package doesn’t end there, however. There are plenty of other packages that could provide just as much, if not more, needed support during the #coronavirus pandemic.
What other benefits are coming in the new stimulus bill?
Emergency rental and housing aide
For those Americans who have had trouble making their housing or rent payments, emergency rental and mortgage aide programs have been granted additional funding so more can claim this essential benefit and stay in their rented or owned homes.
Rent relief and help with household bills
Renters who haven’t been able to make rental or housing cost payments due to financial hardship could receive rental benefits to help cover costs of:
- Rent costs and overdue rent payments
- Utilities and home energy bills and overdue utility and home energy payments
- Other qualified housing expenses
These benefits are designed to keep renters in a stable environment until they can financially recover and begin making payments on their own again.
Waived fees and mortagage payment support
Homeowners who have experienced financial hardship to an extent that they have trouble making payments on time or at all, can sign up for mortgage assistance programs to help by:
- Starting a period of mortgage forbearance (reduced or no payments) for up to 15 months
- Waiving penalties and late fees
- Not reporting to credit bureaus about late or ‘missing’ loan payments
- Modifying loan terms to preserve or lower monthly mortgage payments
Emergency housing vouchers
If a person or family’s hardship has been so great that they have been forced out of their living situation, or would be considered “homeless” or at risk of losing their home, there is help for these individuals in the form of emergency housing vouchers. These vouchers would provide a stable living environment for individuals or families experiencing homelessness until September 31, 2021.
Tax waivers and credits
New tax waivers and credits are coming that should decrease the tax burden on already struggling citizens. These changes could mean that more Americans receive a refund based on their situation, whether that be because they collected unemployment benefits, had additional childcare expenses, or earned a low salary during the pandemic.
Unemployed individuals would qualify for a tax waiver for up to $10,200 of the unemployment they received, families with qualified children would collect up to $3600 in child tax credits and individuals earning under a certain threshold would also get a tax break so they can keep more of what they earned.
No matter what the situation may be, as Americans continue to recover financially from the pandemic, a lower tax burden should help.
$10k in tax free student loan forgiveness
For those who are still in the process of paying down loans, up to $10k of your student debt could be forgiven under the new bill. If you qualify for additional student loan forgiveness due to public service work, you could be eligible to have up to $50k in student loan debt forgiven.
The debt forgiveness is also considered tax free, which means those who have student loan debt forgiven would not owe tax on the debt that was cancelled down the line.
Funding for a public health workforce
Unemployed Americans could get the boost in local opportunities they need to start earning again with a new public health workforce which would employ an estimated 100k workers nationwide for roles like: case investigators, contact tracers, social support specialists, community health workers, public health nurses, disease intervention specialists, epidemiologists, program managers, laboratory personnel and more.
This national work program would both help to stop the spread of COVID-19 and help employ many who have been out of work due to the pandemic. The CDC is still developing a plan for this massive undertaking, though if you’re looking for work now this is a program to track closely.
Which of these stimulus programs will you be claiming and how will they help you?
Comments
Never got a stimulus check
I own my home, it's completely paid for but I haven't been able to pay my property tax this year. And for the first time ever I have no homeowners insurance. It's terrifying. Is there a program that can assist me with either of these?
What about people who are in tough situations and need to find their own housing. Will this help them find permanent housing? Can they get trained for another job if their job is closing? Yes they will get unemployment, but that will not sustain them. They need education and housing. Will these people get help?
Also have a person who works and has got checks from the government and tax return but refuses to pay rent but bought a new car what can I do. .
I have commercial building which I have not received rental income but still have to pay insurance and property taxes. Is there any program for that?
Can someone tell me why I'm waiting since December 2020 to start getting unemployment checks. my determination letter came and states I have been approved. i go in every week and file my claim which states its active but no checks are coming in. No one answers the phone and the email response I received is a uniformed letter dated back to February 2020. Any suggestions?
I'm concerned. I was released 4 months ago from corrections and filled out paperwork, as of today, I have yet to receive one check! Its very confusing and I could use this money.
There are many people like me who have worked from all the way back since high school contributing to social security and while in the arm forces getting paid and yet having social security being deducted from one's pay and from all the jobs that one has thereafter. Considering that I have worked all my life since graduating from grammar school into high school and later joining the Air Force and worked there after on and off, all I get from social security is $750.00 per month, which is not enough to even pay the rent if I were living alone, let alone everything else like the expensive food of today. However I thank God that at least we are the only country that has initiated recompensing their citizens for the loses of the time that we are in today, which us in the USA a good example of how our government truly looks after their people, who we are all of different nationalities. Amen!
I recently got divorced and I lost my stimulus check to my ex husband who still has a job and income and even gets full social security benefits since he is 68. I checked all summer and fall, wondering what happened to it....and since we filed together the year before, both stimulus checks were combined and sent to him. I can not believe he got away with keeping it! I thought they said EVERY INDIVIDUAL WAS ENTITLED TO GET ONE!!!! In my divorce, my lawyer just said that they are just starting to do this. This is VERY WRONG!!!!!! Is there anything I can do to get this money back from him? I have not been working and it is SO UNFAIR that he got to keep it when he has income, I DO NOT!!!!!!!!!! Teresa Nelson In South Dakota