Atlanta-based financial advisors, Silver Penny Financial Planning, break down a few questions you may have about the recently signed stimulus bill.
After months of impasse over the next steps in the COVID-19 aid and recovery bill, Congress has finally agreed on a package which the president signed on December 27th, 2020. The $900 billion stimulus deal was passed by Congress on Tuesday, December 22nd. The bill will provide benefits for individuals, businesses, and healthcare providers. Here are some highlights that might impact you.
Individuals:
- The aid will provide $600 per adult and $600 per child (versus CARES act that provided $1,200 per independent adult and $500 per child). The qualifying income and phase out will be the same.
The threshold amounts are based on a taxpayer’s 2018 “adjusted gross income” (AGI), unless the taxpayer has already filed a 2019 tax return. The phase-out begins at:
- Single filers, $75,000; completely phased-out for AGI over $99,000
- Heads of households, $112,500, completely phased-out for AGI over $136,500
- Joint filers, $150,000, completely phased-out for AGI over $198,000
- Federal unemployment supplement benefit which expired under the CARES act ($600 weekly) now adds $300 per week through mid-March.
Businesses:
- PPP—Additional $284 billion added to the small business Paycheck Protection Program. A tax deduction will be allowed for recipients of the first round of PPP who used it for qualified expenses.
- The second round of payroll protection is more favorable to restaurant and food businesses who have lost significant revenue during the pandemic.
Healthcare:
- $8 billion is being directed towards vaccine distribution (logistics) and $20 billion to ensure Americans are able to receive free vaccination shots, as they become available.
- $20 billion is being allocated towards continued COVID-19 testing and contract tracing.
Additional funding is allocated to the airline industry, rental assistance, food aid, education, and transportation. This is a very large 5,000 page bill so we have highlighted a very few items that might impact you.
If you have further questions about how this might affect your financial planning, our Certified Financial Planners™ stand by ready to take your questions.
Written by Vladimir Nikitenko, CFP® professional