GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's not unusual to look forward to Friday. It's the end of the workweek, oftentimes it's payday. This week it could be the day a stimulus deal is made.
Aug. 7 is the last day for about a month that the House and the Senate are both scheduled to be in session.
When could you see the money?
If a stimulus deal is agreed upon, the head of the U.S. Treasury Steven Mnuchin says, almost immediately.
“I can have it out immediately. So, if I could get that passed tomorrow, I could start printing them the following week," Mnuchin said. "We did it the first time. I can get out 50 million payments really quickly. A lot of it into people's direct accounts. That's going to have an enormous impact on the American economy, hardworking Americans, so I want to get that done quickly.”
But really, how soon?
CNET looked at the last stimulus payments to come up with a possible timeline.
The original CARES ACT was passed on March 25 and 26. It was signed into law by March 27 and the first stimulus checks were sent out 20 days later on April 15.
CNET’s possible timeline for the second round of stimulus deal includes it passing Aug. 7, being signed into law a few days later and the first checks could be sent by Aug. 17.
If the deal doesn't get done until after the month-long recess, you're looking at mid-to-late September before you get the first stimulus money.
At this point, it appears the IRS will use the same measures for sending out stimulus payments, which includes basing the payments not on your situation today, but on your 2018 or 2019 tax returns.
How much will the second stimulus be?
Early indicators have the amount at $1,200, just like last time.
The amount for dependents ranges between $500 and $1,200. Again, we will have to wait and see what happens Friday.