Over the past two months, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has completely turned the U.S. economy on its head. Once riding the longest streak of economic expansion in history, the U.S. economy has seen more than 30 million Americans lose their jobs due to the shutdown of nonessential businesses. Further, second-quarter gross domestic product may contract by more than 30%, according to a variety of Wall Street estimates.
Its economic data like this that coerced lawmakers to overwhelmingly pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27. At $2.2 trillion, the CARES Act marks the largest economic stimulus package in history. It set aside money for hospitals, distressed businesses, small business loans, and an expansion of the unemployment benefits program.
But what really stands out to the American public about the CARES Act is the $300 billion directed toward stimulus payouts for working Americans and seniors.
Image source: Getty Images.
Is stimulus money headed your way?
For the 175 million Americans expected to receive an Economic Impact Payment (EIP), as these stimulus payouts are officially known, the maximum to expect is $1,200 per individual and $2,400 for married couples filing jointly. Qualifying dependent children aged 16 and under can also add $500 per child to a parents' or households' total payment.
Ultimately, the amount of stimulus money you receive tends to be dictated by three factors: Your adjusted gross income (AGI), your tax-filing status, and your citizenship. Note that your most recent federal tax return will be used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine your eligibility.
In terms of income, single, married, and head-of-household filers will need to have respective AGI's below $75,000, $150,000, and $112,500 in order to collect the maximum payment. Comparatively, single, married, and head-of-household filers with respective AGI's above $99,000, $198,000, and $136,500 aren't eligible for an Economic Impact Payment since they've earned too much. For those whose AGI's fall in-between these two income bounds, stimulus payouts are reduced by $5 for every $100 in AGI above the lower bound. Thus, a single filer with $80,000 in AGI will net $950 instead of the full $1,200.
As for the other factors, any dependent aged 17 and older (this includes senior citizens receiving Social Security who've been claimed as dependents) is ineligible to receive an Economic Impact Payment, as are non-citizens who don't have a legal pathway to citizenship.
Here's how much the average stimulus check has totaled in each state
According to an IRS press release, updated April 28, approximately 89.5 million tax filers (this could be single taxpayers or married couples filing jointly) had already received their payments via direct deposit. With $160.4 billion having been issued, it means the average stimulus payout is $1,792.40 per recipient in the early stages.
But as you might expect, the average payout can differ greatly from one state to the next. Here's a rundown of the average stimulus payout in all 50 states, listed in descending order.
| State | Average EIP | State | Average EIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | $2,048.31 | Louisiana | $1,815.68 |
| Idaho | $1,998.37 | Michigan | $1,812.37 |
| Oklahoma | $1,913.76 | Georgia | $1,810.00 |
| South Dakota | $1,908.83 | Maine | $1,801.37 |
| Arkansas | $1,906.84 | New Mexico | $1,798.84 |
| Nebraska | $1,903.49 | Virginia | $1,792.93 |
| Wyoming | $1,903.40 | Hawaii | $1,792.31 |
| Iowa | $1,895.93 | Washington | $1,787.65 |
| Kansas | $1,893.59 | Ohio | $1,785.85 |
| Kentucky | $1,886.05 | Pennsylvania | $1,779.23 |
| West Virginia | $1,884.57 | Oregon | $1,771.52 |
| Alabama | $1,861.61 | Vermont | $1,765.84 |
| Indiana | $1,856.94 | Illinois | $1,765.74 |
| North Dakota | $1,856.63 | Colorado | $1,760.34 |
| Missouri | $1,854.16 | Delaware | $1,757.40 |
| Montana | $1,851.62 | New Hampshire | $1,751.33 |
| Tennessee | $1,844.23 | Nevada | $1,750.55 |
| Texas | $1,842.98 | Florida | $1,743.32 |
| Mississippi | $1,842.18 | California | $1,741.45 |
| Alaska | $1,836.49 | New Jersey | $1,719.92 |
| Wisconsin | $1,829.73 | Maryland | $1,704.37 |
| South Carolina | $1,828.16 | Rhode Island | $1,697.76 |
| Arizona | $1,824.07 | Connecticut | $1,697.12 |
| North Carolina | $1,822.75 | New York | $1,693.57 |
| Minnesota | $1,821.05 | Massachusetts | $1,663.51 |
Data source: Internal Revenue Service. Calculations by author.
What is it that allows the average stimulus payment in Utah to be nearly $385 higher than the typical stimulus payout received by a resident of Massachusetts? The differences you see on this list can primarily be explained by two factors.
First, there's median household income. As noted earlier, AGI plays a big role in determining whether or not an individual or married couple is eligible for an Economic Impact Payment. Residents in states that have higher median household incomes are more likely to see their payout reduced than in states with lower median household incomes.
While it may not tell the full story, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire rank first, second, fourth, sixth, and seventh in median household income, but are respectively 46th, 45th, 50th, 48th, and 41st in average Economic Impact Payment. Meanwhile, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Kentucky respectively rank 49th, 48th, and 45th in median household income, but among the leaders in largest average EIP, so far.
The other differentiating factor here is the average number of children per family. Though there's not a huge difference across the U.S., the range tends to be 1.7-1.8 children per family at the low end to 2.01+ children per family at the high end. Many northeastern states represent this low end, such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Comparatively, Utah is one of the few states with more than two children per family. That's important, since qualifying dependents add $500 per child to a household's payout.
Image source: Getty Images.
Where's my stimulus money?
While nearly 90 million Americans had received their EIP through the first three weeks, and tens of millions of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Veterans Affairs benefits recipients should be getting their payments any day now, this still leaves up to 50 million Americans to wonder where their stimulus money is.
Assuming you do, indeed, qualify for a payment, there are a couple of good reasons you probably don't have your money yet.
Perhaps the most logical is that you've used a tax-preparation service in recent years. When you receive a federal tax refund, your tax-prep service often creates a temporary bank account where that payout will land. This allows the tax preparer to remove any fees and interest you may have incurred. The tax-preparation service then forwards your remaining refund to your bank account. In 2008, when stimulus checks were sent to the American public, some 20 million checks wound up in these inaccessible temporary accounts. Eventually, the IRS had to issue paper checks to these individuals.
Another logical reason your payment hasn't arrived is because the IRS doesn't have your bank account information on file. If you typically don't receive a direct deposit refund, the IRS won't have the information needed to quickly get you your Economic Impact Payment. Along those same lines, if you've changed banks recently, the IRS might have the wrong bank account info on file. Either way, this is a recipe for a paper check to be mailed.
Although the IRS has begun mailing paper checks, it's starting with the lowest-income Americans first and is working its way up each week in $10,000 increments. Thus, married couple filings jointly with $190,000 to $198,000 in AGI may not see their payments for close to 20 more weeks.
The best thing you can do right now is use the "Get My Payment" tool on the IRS' website to update your bank account info and, hopefully, reduce the time it takes to receive your stimulus money.
