As of right now, there are no plans for a fourth stimulus check in 2022. That doesn’t mean efforts for additional financial assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic are done.
A petition calling for $2,000 checks for U.S. adults and $1,000 for children has been signed by 2.97 million people. If it reaches 3 million signatures, the petition will become one of Change.org’s most-signed petitions.
And while that petition has garnered millions of signatures and widespread attention, it appears unlikely it will move Congress to act. Instead, efforts are underway to extend the expanded Child Tax Credit, a measure passed during March’s American Rescue Plan. The child tax pays parents up to $300 a month for children ages 5 and younger and $250 per child age 6-17. The remainder of the money – up to $1,800 – can be claimed when filing 2021 taxes in 2022.
The payments started in July and are set to end in December unless extended by Congress.
The $2.2 trillion Build Back Better bill, passed by the House on Nov. 19 and currently before the U. S. Senate would extend the monthly payments through 2022, short of President Joe Biden’s proposal to stretch them into 2025.
That measure faces an uphill battle.
Passage of the bill requires a simple majority but at least two Democratic Senators, Krysten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have expressed concerns about aspects of the bill. If the Senate adjusts or makes amendments to the bill, it would have to return to the House for approval before going to Biden for his signature.
How that will play out remains to be seen and it appears unlikely it will be passed in time for monthly checks to continue uninterruped. The final child tax credit payment is set to begin distribution Dec. 15.
Who will receive stimulus funds in 2022?
Parents who welcomed a child in 2021 could be eligible for additional money in 2022.
The third round of stimulus payments included up to $1,400 per person and came on the heels of $1,200 and $600 checks sent in March 2020 and December 2020, respectively.
According to the IRS, because the third round of stimulus payments was based on information from 2020 or 2019 tax returns, qualifying new parents can claim their $1,400 through the Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2021 taxes.
Parents with 2021 newborns are also eligible to receive the child tax credit payment, paid through a lump sum of up to $3,600 when filing taxes.
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