Now that President Donald Trump has signed the second coronavirus stimulus bill, most taxpayers are set to receive a one-time payment of $600 and several unemployment programs will be restarted .
An article written by Miles Bryan from WHYY specifies the most relevant details of the important subsidy.
The $900 billion package provides a $300-a-week subsidy to all workers receiving unemployment, on top of their regular benefits. It also renews two programs created in March by the CARES Act: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for freelancers, the self-employed, and others who do not qualify for traditional unemployment; and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which extends benefits to workers after state aid has run out. Over the weekend, more than half a million Pennsylvanians temporarily lost their unemployment benefits as those programs expired.
That was not supposed to happen: Lawmakers in DC passed the stimulus bill with bipartisan support on Dec. 21. But Trump held up the bill over his demand that the one-time payments be increased from $600 to $2000. Sunday night, the incumbent relented and added his signature to the legislation as is. Congress plans to vote this week on a separate bill that would authorize the larger payments.
You can read: “Safer at home” restrictions were extended through January 15
If you’re wondering when your check will arrive, what’s up with your unemployment, or what else taxpayers should expect from the new program, this is what you need to know.
Unemployment checks
If you received a $1,200 stimulus check last spring, you should get the $600 one this time around.
The payments will go to every taxpaying adult earning up to $75,000. Those earning between $75,000 and $99,000 will get smaller checks. Most people who earn more than that are not eligible for the money.
Individuals with dependent children will get an additional $600 per child.
In a few days
After this second stimulus passed Congress, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said people could start to see the money hitting their bank accounts via direct deposit within a few days.
If you are one of the more than 509,000 Pennsylvanians who stopped receiving unemployment benefits this week, you might want to prepare for a lean few weeks.
Julia Simon-Mishel, the supervising attorney with Philadelphia Legal Assistance’s Unemployment Compensation Unit, said that because Trump signed the bill on Sunday, after this week had technically begun, it is not clear if people who had lost benefits will receive them retroactively for this week.
Simon-Mischel added that if you have already been receiving unemployment benefits, you do not need to do anything new, simply continue to file your claims as you normally would.
No need to start a new application
As of Monday morning, the web portal for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program did not allow claimants to file. Simon-Mischel said people relying on that program should check back every week until it allows them to file weekly claims once again. They do not have to start a new application.
Everyone who receives unemployment benefits should automatically get the new federal boost of $300 a week added on top.
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