Stimulus and unemployment benefits were renewed: What happens now?

A new stimulus package has been passed by Congress that promises benefits like stimulus payments, unemployment benefit extensions and more. With many Americans anticipating much-needed relief from its passage, many want to know exactly when they could be receiving certain benefits.

So what happens now that a bill has passed in Congress and when could you receive your benefits? Check below for answers to all your stimulus questions.

What happens now that the stimulus bill passed?

Once a bill is passed, the president will need to sign the bill into law before payments can start being disbursed. Right now, President Biden plans to sign the recently passed stimulus bill on Friday March 12, 2021. Once the bill is signed, stimulus payments can begin and unemployment changes will take effect. So if Americans won’t see changes immediately, when will they?

When unemployment changes will take effect

Technically, unemployment changes will take effect when the stimulus bill is signed into law, however unemployment claimants should be advised that it could take a few weeks for those extra benefits to be disbursed. Unemployment claimants could experience a lapse in benefits, however missed weeks of unemployment should be back-paid to

When to expect a stimulus payment

Wait times for your payment could vary based on which method of payment is being used. Currently there are 3 forms of payment the IRS uses to disburse stimulus funds organized into “payment groups” that will receive their payments at different times.

For direct deposit recipients

Americans in this payment group can expect their payments to be delivered within two weeks of the stimulus bill being signed by President Biden, or likely before the March 29, 2021.

For paper check recipients

This group is likely to wait for a few weeks as checks are printed and physically sent to recipients, making the wait time up to three weeks or longer depending on mail delivery times, or likely around the week of April 5, 2021.

For EIP card recipients

Americans expecting to receive Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards can expect to wait the longest, with an estimated wait time to receive their money around 1 month or more after this bill was signed into law.

Avoid stimulus payment delays and disqualification

Sign up for direct deposit with the IRS

If you need your check as soon as possible you may be wondering how you can get your payment by direct deposit, as opposed to paper check or EIP card. Currently, the only way to get your payment electronically (including any unclaimed stimulus money from the first two rounds of payments) is to file your 2020 tax return.

By providing your direct deposit information when you e-file your taxes you can ensure that the IRS has the most updated bank account information for you before they begin disbursing direct deposit payments. If the IRS doesn't have your direct deposit information by the time payments begin to be disbursed, you're likely to receive a (slower delivery) paper check or EIP card instead.

Calculate how much stimulus money you should get

If you want to check how much you should receive from this round of stimulus payments, use this stimulus payment calculator to get a quick estimate of how much you should receive based on your situation.

The bill calls for $1,400 payments per individual, or $2,800 for married couples, provided they fall under certain income thresholds.

Calculate your payment

Tip: Make sure the IRS has your income right

Due to new eligibility rules in the new version of this bill, more Americans will be disqualified from receiving their stimulus payments due to their last reported income to the IRS.

If your last reported income would disqualify you from receiving the newest round of stimulus payments, but your income in 2020 would qualify you to receive a stimulus payment, file your taxes so the IRS doesn’t wrongly disqualify you from receiving your payment.

Now that you know how much and when you'll be getting your payment, how will you spend your stimulus?