More Than 50 Percent of Recent Stimulus Check Money Went to Households Making Less Than $50,000

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building stands in Washington on April 15, 2019. Zach Gibson/Getty Images

The Treasury Department said on June 29 that more than half of the almost $390 billion disbursed in the third round of stimulus payments went to households with an annual income of less than $50,000, while more than 85 percent went to households making less than $100,000 per year.

Another 10 percent of the third round of economic impact payments (EIP), as the relief funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act are formally called, went to Social Security, Railroad Retirement Board, and Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries whose incomes weren’t large enough for them to be required to file a tax return, as well as to people who used the IRS' online Non-filer tool, the department said in a release.

Income category data released by the IRS (xls) show that 13.5 percent of the third-round payment money went to households with annual incomes between $100,000 and $200,000, while around 0.1 percent went to those earning $200,000 or more.

IRS state-level data (xls) show that $43.5 billion went to households in California, $34.5 billion to those in Texas, $26.5 billion to those in Florida, and $22.2 billion to those in New York.

In total, the IRS and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service jointly disbursed 163.5 million third-round EIPs through June 3, with roughly 90 million of those payments being paid out within a week of the American Rescue Plan’s passage.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan authorized individuals earning less than $75,000 per year—and married joint filers making less than $150,000 per year—to receive a full payment of $1,400. The checks then ramp down to zero for individuals earning $80,000 or above and for joint filers making $160,000 or more.

The IRS stated that it’s continuing to make stimulus payments and the related 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit—which is for those who didn’t get a first and second economic impact payment or got less than the full amount—on a weekly basis as people continue to file tax returns.

People who want to claim the recovery rebate credit must file a 2020 tax return, even if they’re not normally required to file one.

In a separate release, the IRS warned of a number of tax scams, including stimulus payment thefts.

“Don’t fall for stimulus check scams,” the agency wrote, noting the presence of a “continuing threat” from identity thieves seeking to steal stimulus money.

The IRS stated that people should be on guard for scammers reaching out via phone, email, text message, or on social media, asking them to provide Social Security numbers or other personal financial information related to stimulus payments.

The IRS stated that it will never initiate such contact as most eligible recipients receive their payments automatically.

This article has been updated to correct state-level data from payment numbers to dollar amounts. The Epoch Times regrets the error.