Kentuckians have received more than $5.78 billion in latest stimulus payments

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The federal government made 2,402,715 payments to Kentuckians totaling $5,788,406,000 in the third round of stimulus payments that began earlier this year, according to state-by-state data released Tuesday by – The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The numbers cover through early June from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Of the payments, 2,058,088 were paid electronically, 341,611 were paid by checks and the reaminder were paid on debit cards.

 All 50 states saw more total relief with this round of payments than in previous rounds.

The EIP data, available on IRS.gov, cover payments made through June 3 and provide, by state, income category, and filing status, information on the number and dollar amounts of payments, as well as aspects of the payments.

More than half of this direct relief has gone to households making less than $50,000 a year.

Another 10 percent of the payments went to Social Security, Railroad Retirement Board, and Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries whose incomes were not large enough to be required to file an income tax return and to individuals who used the online Non-filer tool. In total, more than 85 percent of the payments went to households making less than $100,000 a year.

The EIPs under the American Rescue Plan included payments of up to $1,400 per qualifying dependent, a significant increase over the $500 and $600 per qualifying child from the first and second rounds of payments, respectively.

Through June 3, families received more than $108 billion in Economic Impact Payments attributable to their qualifying dependents under the American Rescue Plan, an increase of more than $78 billion over the first round of EIPs last year.

The IRS and BFS collaborated to deliver the third round of EIPs rapidly, securely, and conveniently to American families. The week after the American Rescue Plan passed, the IRS disbursed roughly 90 million relief payments.

Through early June, nearly 138 million households received EIPs through direct deposit, more than during any other round of payments. More than 85 percent of the third round of EIP dollars were paid through direct deposit, up from 77 percent from the first round of EIPs last year.

Americans eligible for Economic Impact Payments provided in the American Rescue Plan can still receive their payments by filing a 2020 income tax return or, if their income is not high enough to be required to file a full income tax return, by using the IRS Non-filer tool available here.

Individuals do not need to have children to sign up for Economic Impact Payments.

By filing a 2020 income tax return or using the Non-filer tool, eligible individuals can also claim the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit for any amount of the first two rounds of Economic Impact Payments they may have missed and to register for monthly Advance Child Tax Credit payments.

The IRS will continue to make Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. Ongoing payments will be sent to eligible individuals for whom the IRS previously did not have information to issue a payment but who recently filed an income tax return, as well to people who qualify for “plus-up” payments.

Under the American Rescue Plan, eligible people filing as single making less than $75,000, a head of household making less than $112,500, or as married couple filing jointly making less than $150,000 qualify for an Economic Impact Payment of $1,400 per person each plus $1,400 for each qualifying dependent, including kids, college students, and seniors claimed as dependents.

An eligible married couple that earned $75,000 last year and had two qualifying children would receive an Economic Impact Payment of $5,600 through the American Rescue Plan.

Individuals can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of these payments. Additional information on Economic Impact Payments is available on IRS.gov.