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Restrictions for dependents getting the entire $1,400 check

Dependents will get $1,400 instead of $500 or $600 and the new stimulus law opens up eligibility requirements to both child and adult dependents for the first time. Dependents over age 16 didn't qualify for the first and second checks, but a change here makes college students, older adult relatives and people of any age with certain disabilities entitled to receive money as part of the household total.

That change loops in about 13.5 million adult dependents who weren't counted before, according to the People's Policy Project.

Citizenship: What if my household is considered mixed-status by the IRS?

In the $900 billion stimulus package from December, a US citizen and noncitizen spouse were both eligible for a payment as long as they both had Social Security numbers. This has been referred to as a "mixed-status" household when it comes to citizenship. Households with mixed US citizenship were left out of the first check.

The final qualifications for a third stimulus check have been settled.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The new stimulus bill includes all mixed-status households where just one member has a Social Security number for a third stimulus check. That potentially includes families with citizen children and noncitizen parents.

In the CARES Act from last March, households with a person who wasn't a US citizen weren't eligible to receive a stimulus check, even if one spouse and a child were US citizens. 

Eligibility details for noncitizens and the third stimulus check

The CARES Act made a Social Security number a requirement for that first stimulus payment. Though other proposals would've expanded the eligibility to those with an ITIN instead of a Social Security number because they're classified as a resident or nonresident alien, this group was excluded in the final bill text that authorized a second stimulus check in December as well. 

The new bill expands the qualifications to include all mixed-status families -- where at least one member has a Social Security number -- for a third check.

The definition of a child dependent didn't change with a second stimulus check, but it does with the third.

Angela Lang/CNET

Can past-due child support affect my stimulus money amount?

If you owed child support, your first stimulus payment could have been taken for arrears (the amount you owed). With the second check, those who owed child support didn't have their payment garnished to cover past-due payments. The new bill with the $1,400 payment doesn't exclude garnishments, so your check could be garnished to pay a private past-due debt.

One more exception for people who are missing payments of any amount and need to claim the stimulus money as a Recovery Rebate Credit in their taxes: The protection from garnishment laid out in the second check doesn't extend to catch-up payments made in the Recovery Rebate Credit, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent government agency that works with the IRS. That means that all or part of stimulus money received this way could potentially be seized to pay outstanding debts. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is urging the IRS to keep rebate credits intact.

Yes, inmates are eligible for the third stimulus payment

After months of back and forth, the IRS was ordered by a federal judge to send the first stimulus checks to people who are incarcerated. They are included in the new law, which means they'll qualify for the $1,400 check. 

The IRS classifies me as an older adult. What details do I need to know?

Many older adults, including retirees over age 65, received a first stimulus check under the CARES Act and were eligible for the second one -- and are for the third as well. For older adults and retired people, factors like your tax filings, your AGI, your pension and if you're part of the SSI or SSDI program (more below) will affect whether you receive a stimulus payment. 

The third stimulus check makes older adult dependents eligible to receive more money on behalf of the household. Here's how to determine if you qualify for your own stimulus check or count as a dependent.

How much stimulus money you could get depends on who you are.

Angela Lang/CNET

Extra work for nonfilers: File your 2020 tax return this year to get the right stimulus check amount

If you need to add a dependent the IRS doesn't know about, you'll need to file a simple 2020 tax return to claim them. You may also be able to get missing money for the first two checks as well, by claiming it on your taxes in 2021 as a Recovery Rebate Credit.

With the second payment, the IRS used your 2019 tax returns to determine eligibility. Nonfilers, who weren't required to file a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019, may still be eligible to receive the first stimulus check under the CARES Act. And this group will qualify again. Here are reasons you might not have been required to file:

• You're over 24, you're not claimed as a dependent and your income is less than $12,200.
• You're married filing jointly and together your income is less than $24,400.
• You have no income.
• You receive federal benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance. See below for more on SSDI.

Social Security, SSI, SSDI, veteran beneficiaries: What you need to know about qualifications and your stimulus payment

The majority of people who are part of the SSI or SSDI programs qualify for a check -- read our guide for details. This time, many will get their payments on their existing Direct Express card, though some may receive stimulus money a different way. Consult our guide for more on what to know and do, including if you need to claim a dependent by filing a tax return for 2020.

Recipients of the first check received their payments through a non-Direct Express bank account or as a paper check sent in the mail. In the December bill, these recipients again qualified to receive payments, along with Railroad Retirement Board and Veterans Administration beneficiaries.

Taxes and stimulus check eligibility: The two work together

For most people, taxes and stimulus checks are tightly related. For example, the most important factor in setting income limits is your AGI, which determines how much of the total stimulus payment you would be entitled to receive. The same holds true with a third stimulus check.

$1,400 stimulus check income limits

Here's what we know about whether Congress will use your 2019 tax information to determine your payment or if it will look at your 2020 tax returns to set your check amount -- and what happens if you get too much money or not enough because of it.

For more information, here's how to track your stimulus payment, every way the stimulus bill benefits you and what to know about the 2021 child tax credit.