随着最新的联邦大流行救助计划被提交给总统乔·拜登美国人可能想知道什么时候他们会受益。
被称为“美国救援计划”的1.9万亿美元在规模和范围上都是巨大的。它包括对大多数美国人的直接付款、对小企业的援助、对学校的财政帮助以及帮助国家从大流行的财政灾难中恢复的更多内容。
众议院预计将在本周早些时候给出最终批准，然后前往拜登那里签字。它的通过时机至关重要——最明显的是，一些大规模失业救济将于周日结束。
数以百万计的纳税人几乎可以立即看到直接的好处，有些是在本月晚些时候，有些则需要几个月才能实现。
以下是你需要了解的支出计划的主要内容:
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减压检查
该立法规定，单身纳税人直接支付1400美元，共同申请的已婚夫妇支付2800美元，外加每个受抚养人1400美元。收入不超过75，000美元的个人将获得全额，收入不超过150，000美元的已婚夫妇也将获得全额。
对于那些收入稍高的人来说，支票的金额将会缩小，个人支票的上限为8万美元，已婚夫妇为16万美元。
拜登估计，85%的美国人将有资格获得这笔款项。一些以前没有资格获得补助的群体，如受抚养的大学生和残疾成年人，现在也有资格获得补助。
拜登说，目标是从本月开始支付款项。
“这意味着抵押贷款可以得到偿还。这意味着孩子可以留在社区大学。这意味着保持你的健康保险，”拜登说。“这将对这个国家的许多人的生活产生重大影响。”
白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基星期二说，政府正在尽一切努力加快付款。因此，财政部正努力通过直接存款向纳税人支付更多款项。该机构将能够向那些从2019年或2020年税务申报中获得信息的人或通过其他程序提供信息的人直接支付存款。
拜登的签名不会出现在支票上，他的前任做出的这一举动被批评为延迟付款。
美联社-NORC公共事务研究中心的一项新调查显示，30%的美国人表示，他们目前的家庭收入仍然低于大流行开始时的水平。
在12月底支出成为法律后几天，国税局和财政部就开始通过直接存款和支票发放最后一轮付款。
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失业
联邦政府扩大的失业救济金将延长至9月6日，每周300美元。这是在州失业保险计划支付的基础上。
尽管经济略有复苏，但仍有数百万美国人失业。该计划还将扩大两个关键的大流行项目，惠及约1180万美国人。
这些大规模失业福利将于周日到期，因此如果该法案的通过出现延迟，福利可能会出现缺口。但是国家就业法项目预计，如果事情在本周完成，各州和现有的受益人可能不会看到任何支付中断。
对于收入低于15万美元的家庭，第一笔10，200美元的失业救济金将是免税的，但仅限于2020年以后的救济金。国税局将不得不发布关于如何将此付诸实践的指导方针。
此外，这些措施提供100%的COBRA健康保险费补贴，以确保从4月1日到9月底，下岗工人可以免费参加雇主的健康计划。
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减税
该一揽子计划包含许多有价值的减税措施。其中最引人注目的是纳税人可以为受抚养子女申请的税收抵免的增加。
根据现行法律，大多数纳税人可以为每个孩子减少高达2000美元的联邦所得税。该法案将把6岁至17岁儿童的税收减免额提高到3000美元，6岁以下儿童的税收减免额提高到3600美元。
不管一年挣得多少，家庭都会得到全额贷款。
其目的是以较小的月付款而不是较大的一次性付款的方式交付这笔钱，这是税收抵免的预付款。
这笔钱何时到达的确切时间仍不清楚。如果财政部确定每月付款不可行，那么付款应尽可能频繁。
城市-布鲁金斯税收政策中心的首席研究助理伊莱恩·马格(Elaine Maag)表示，每月支付最早可能在7月份开始，但如果政府选择季度支付，则需要等到秋季。
根据哥伦比亚大学贫困和社会政策中心的数据，加上1400美元的支票和提案中的其他项目，这项立法将把贫困儿童的数量减少一半以上。
该法案还通过向没有子女的人提供2021年所得税抵免，显著扩大了所得税抵免。根据收入和申报情况，低收入和中等收入成年人的信用额度为543至1502美元。
在纳税人提交2021纳税年度(通常是2022年初)的纳税申报表之前，EITC的好处不会显现出来。
该计划不包括免除学生贷款，但它允许从2021年到2025年免除学生贷款的任何收入免税。
When to expect payments, other benefits from relief package
As the latest federal pandemic relief package makes its way to PresidentJoe Biden’s desk, Americans may be wondering when the benefits will reach them.
The $1.9 trillion known as the “American Rescue Plan” is massive, both in size and scope. It includes direct payments to most Americans, aid to small businesses, financial help for schools and much more to help the country recover from the financial ravages of the pandemic.
The house is expected to give its final approval early this week and then it heads to Biden for his signature. The timing of its passage is crucial — most notably because some pandemic unemployment benefits will be coming to an end on Sunday.
Millions of taxpayers could begin see direct benefits almost immediately, some later this month and others taking several months to accomplish.
Here’s you need to know about the main planks of the spending plan:
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RELIEF CHECKS
The legislation provides a direct payment of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000.
The size of the check would shrink for those making slightly more, with a hard cut-off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples.
Biden estimates that 85% of Americans will be eligible for the payment. Some groups that were not eligible for prior payments — such as dependent college students and disabled adults — are now eligible.
Biden said the goal is to send out the payments starting this month.
“That means the mortgage can get paid. That means the child can stay in community college. That means maintaining the health insurance you have,” Biden said. “It’s going to make a big difference in so many of lives in this country.”
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the administration is doing everything in its power to expedite payments. As such, the Treasury is working to get more payments to taxpayers by direct deposit. The agency will be able to send direct deposit payments to those who have their information on file from 2019 or 2020 tax filings or who provided it through other programs.
Biden's signature will not appear on the checks, a move his predecessor made that was criticized as a delay in getting payments out.
A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 30% of Americans say their current household income remains lower than it was when the pandemic began.
The IRS and the Treasury Department began to issue the last round of payments by both direct deposit and check in only a matter of days after the outlays became law in late December.
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UNEMPLOYMENT
Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended through Sept. 6 at $300 a week. That’s on top of payments from state unemployment insurance program.
Despite a modest recovery, millions of Americans remain unemployed. The plan would also extend two key pandemic programs, which benefit about 11.8 million Americans.
These pandemic unemployment benefits were set to expire Sunday, so if there is a delay in the bill's passage there could be a gap in benefits. But the National Employment Law Project anticipates if things are finalized this week, states and existing beneficiaries likely won't see any interruption in payments.
The first $10,200 of jobless benefits would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000 but only for benefits from 2020. The IRS will have to issue guidelines on how to put this into practice.
Additionally, the measures provides a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to ensure that the laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans at no cost from April 1 through the end of September.
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TAX BREAKS
The package contains a number of valuable tax breaks. One of the most notable is an increase in the tax credit that taxpayers can claim for dependent children.
Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. The bill would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6.
Families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year.
The aim is to deliver the money, which is an advance payment on the tax credit, in smaller monthly payments instead of one larger lump sum.
The exact timing of when this money would arrive is still unclear. If the Treasury determines that a monthly payment isn’t feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible.
Elaine Maag, principal research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said monthly payments could begin as soon as July but if the government opts for a quarterly payments it take until could fall.
Add in the $1,400 checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.
The bill also significantly expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for 2021 by making it available to people without children. The credit for low and moderate-income adults would be worth $543 to $1,502, depending on income and filing status.
The benefit of the EITC would not be felt until taxpayers file their returns for the 2021 tax year, which would typically be in the beginning of 2022.
The plan does not include student loan forgiveness, but it does allow for any income from the forgiveness of student loans be to be tax-free from 2021 through 2025.
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AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking and staff reporter Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
