The American Rescue Plan was passed into law today, which means another round of relief checks are expected to be sent out next week. But there’s a change to eligibility requirements for the $1,400 “stimmies” that’s easy to overlook—unlike previous checks, dependents of any age can qualify, including college students, disabled adults, and the elderly.
How can you qualify as an adult dependent?
Per Business Insider, adults who rely on another person for more than half of their expenses can be claimed as a dependent. The previous checks were cut off at age 17, but now students up to age 19, or age 24 for full-time college students, can qualify. Dependent adults can also include disabled people and retirees, providing that they have a qualifying relationship or live with you.
As with previous stimulus checks, you have to be below a certain income threshold to qualify for relief checks for you and your dependents. If you are claiming dependents, you will need an adjusted gross income up to $75,000 to receive full $1,400 checks (joint filers earning up to $150,000 will get $2,800).
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The payments will be phased out, lowering by $280 for each $1,000 of your adjusted gross income exceeding the qualifying threshold amount. Individuals who earn more than $80,000 a year (or married couples earning more than $160,000) will be cut off completely from relief checks, regardless of how many dependents they have.
Also, note that the person filing on behalf of dependents will be the one who actually gets paid by the IRS.
How to claim dependents
You can list your dependents on your Form 1040 in the middle of the first page. You will be required to provide their Social Security number, relationship to you, and whether they qualify for a child tax credit as a child dependent. To figure out how much relief you’re entitled to, use this calculator.
If you have newly qualified dependents but you’ve already filed your tax return, you can try to file an amended return, per The New York Times. You might want to hold off on doing so, however, as the IRS has not issued formal guidance yet (and will likely do so after the bill is signed). It’s possible that it will be applicable as a rebate in the following tax year, as with previous checks, but it’s not yet confirmed.
