The third stimulus check is anything but simple.

The $1,400 stimulus checks is on its way to over 100 million bank accounts and mailboxes, but there's still plenty of confusion among recipients around everything from the payment timeline to who is qualified to receive the full $1,400? Could your household total be far greater than "just" the $1,400?

Why all the confusion? The new bill changed several key details, most notably income limits, dependent benefits and a major expansion to the Child Tax Credit (here's when the CTC payments could arrive). Some adjustments were also made to citizenship-based eligibility requirements. And with the IRS making payments in the midst of this year's tax season, your taxes also play a big role in determining whether you'll get a check for the full amount, and when -- especially now that Tax Day 2020 is May 17.

We'll walk you through what to know, including guidance on how to claim any missing stimulus money and how to track your third payment. (P.S: Here's what's being said about a fourth stimulus check so far.) This story is frequently updated. 

Stimulus checks are arriving in bank accounts and mailboxes

Yes, right now. By March 17, the IRS says it sent out 90 million stimulus payments through direct deposit, with the first batch of 150,000 checks in the mail. EIP prepaid debit cards haven't yet been announced, and neither have payments for SSDI and SSI recipients.

The date your payment may arrive is a bit more complicated. However, we've mapped out some possibilities for which groups could start to get their $1,400 -- and how long delivery of the checks could last.

You can track your stimulus check payment schedule and status through the IRS' online tool and can follow a paper check or EIP card to your mailbox with a free USPS service.

The third check could be delayed for some

Any problem with stimulus check delivery, or a calculation error could keep you from getting your check. For example, if you moved, you need to make sure the IRS has your new address, not only the USPS. And depending on which tax year the IRS uses when processing your stimulus payment, any difference could mean you only receive a partial payment, and you have to wait for the rest. 

One example would be if you gained a dependent in 2020 (including a new baby), but the IRS bases your stimulus check on your 2019 tax return. Here's more to know about stimulus checks and taxes. Read more below for which tax year the IRS will use for you.

More dependents qualify toward a stimulus check this time

The new stimulus bill opens the qualifications to roughly 13.5 million more dependents for a third stimulus payment -- for $1,400 apiece -- than the first two payments did by expanding the definition of a dependent. With the new check, any dependent -- child or adult -- would count toward a payment. With the first check and the second, Congress included children age 16 and under but excluded dependents 17 and older.

Being able to receive stimulus money for dependents of any age may feel like an extra gift this year.

There's an income limit for the third stimulus payment

The third stimulus check comes with a $1,400-per-person maximum. To "target" or restrict the third check to lower- and middle-income households, the legislation includes eligibility rules that exclude individuals and families at the highest income levels. An individual with an AGI (adjusted gross income) of at least $80,000 a year would hit the payment cutoff, as would a head of household earning $120,000 and a couple filing jointly with an AGI of $160,000.

However, any dependent a taxpayer claims could qualify for a $1,400 payment. But unlike the first two stimulus payments, people above the hard upper limit wouldn't be able to get a partial check by having dependents. Here's how the stimulus check formula would work. If you want to see for yourself, try our stimulus calculator for the third check.

Stimulus check income limits

Some people aren't eligible for any stimulus money at all

The strict income cap Congress has set for the third check means you could quickly be disqualified from receiving a check or receiving much less than the potential amount the House and Senate agreed to. We explore that here, including changes in your personal life that may have an effect, such as if you got a raise in the past year or if you claim fewer dependents this time around. Here's who might not qualify for a new stimulus check.

The IRS will use your 2019 or 2020 tax return to calculate your payment amount

Tax season and the timing of a third stimulus check overlap. What that means is that the IRS will base your total on income from either your 2020 or 2019 tax return (or even earlier), whichever it has on hand when it determines the size of your payment.

If you already filed your 2020 tax return, you can use this refund tracker to see if your 2020 return has been processed. If it has been, it's likely your stimulus check will be based on your 2020 filing. Otherwise, the iRS will base your stimulus check off the most recent filing in its possession, or any other information it has, if you're a nonfiler such as an SSDI or SSI recipient.

If you qualify for the full $1,400 based on your 2020 taxes, but your check total was lower because the IRS based it on your 2019 taxes, you'd have to claim the difference, possibly when you file in 2022, if not sooner. 

Stimulus check money could add up fast -- as long as you're qualified to receive it.

Many households can expect a much larger check this time

A $1,400 maximum total per person is an obvious way your household would see more money from a third check (compared to $1,200 maximum for the first and $600 for the second). But there's more to it than that. Since the upper limit for the second check was $600 per adult with an extra $600 per child dependent (according to the IRS' formula), more people hit the upper income limit for receiving a second payment. And that means they didn't actually qualify to get any stimulus money at all.

A third stimulus check makes more groups of people eligible to receive money (namely noncitizens who pay taxes) and bring a larger total check to qualified individuals and their families, including $1,400 payments to dependents. A change in your circumstances can also mean you qualify for more money this time. Here are other ways a third stimulus check could put more money in your pocket.

Eligibility guidelines have expanded this time

While the hard income cap will disqualify millions, the third stimulus check also extends qualifications to dependents of any age. That includes college students, older adult relatives and dependents of all ages with disabilities -- not just those under 17 years old.

The second change to eligibility includes all "mixed-status households" with one or more family members who aren't US citizens. An example would be parents who aren't US citizens, but their US-born children are. The second stimulus checks made families with one US-citizen spouse eligible. However, people who are nonresident aliens won't qualify for a stimulus check in the third round.

The IRS is sending payments in batches through Dec. 31

Although stimulus checks are well on their way, the IRS will have until Dec. 31, 2021, to automatically send the payments. That leeway would allow for the agency to potentially fix any direct deposit errors, calculation problems or issues including the right amount of money for dependents. Any discrepancy between 2019 and 2020 taxes could also be claimed in this time period, presumably.

It's also likely that any issues that remain after this deadline could be resolved with taxpayers and non-filers alike claiming any missing money as a Recovery Rebate Credit in 2022. Here are possible timelines for the third stimulus check, for every payment group. You might be able to solve a specific missing money problem sooner by requesting a payment trace with the IRS.

For more information about stimulus checks, here's information about other funding in the new stimulus package, how to estimate your third stimulus check and what we know about a fourth stimulus check so far.