Who got the most stimulus money? New IRS report breaks it down by group

Summer Lin
·2 min read
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A majority of the third round of stimulus checks went to households with income under $50,000, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday in a report.

Around 90 million payments out of about 163 million sent through June 3 went to households with an adjusted gross income of under $50,000, according to the report. More than 26 million payments were issued to households that didn’t file taxes, the IRS data shows.

According to the report, more than 10 million checks went to households with income under $100,000.

The third round of stimulus checks — worth $1,400 for most Americans — was included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue plan signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11.

Individuals making less than $75,000 qualify for a $1,400 payment, while couples earning less than $150,000 qualify for a combined $2,800 payment, plus $1,400 per child or adult dependent.

Households in the West and Midwest got the biggest stimulus checks on average while those in the Northeast got the smallest, Bloomberg reported, citing Treasury Department data.

Utah and Idaho residents got the biggest checks due to having a higher number of children with households getting around $2,784 and $2,628 respectively, according to the publication. Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas households were also at the top of the list.

Meanwhile, Washington D.C. residents got the smallest checks, averaging $1,965, according to the publication.

Residents of the nation’s three most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — received the most payments, according to the recent IRS report. Meanwhile, Wyoming, Washington D.C. and Vermont households received the lowest number of checks.

If you haven’t received a check yet ...

The IRS recommends that people who don’t usually file a tax return to go ahead and file their taxes for 2020 now in order to get the benefits for which they’re eligible, including the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.

People who receive some form of federal benefits, including Social Security, should file a 2020 tax return so the IRS has their most updated information, including on qualifying dependents, in order to issue payments.

People who are experiencing homelessness and others who don’t get federal benefits could still be eligible for stimulus checks, but they need to file a tax return in order to receive money, the IRS said.