The amount of money you get for the third stimulus check is based off of your most recent tax return. That means, if you haven’t filed your 2020 taxes yet, you’ll use the information from your 2019 tax return. Or if you have filed your taxes already, you’ll use the information from your 2020 tax return.

Remember, this is your filing status for your most recent tax return. If your status has changed since then, stick with whichever status you filed last.

There are five options:

• Single
• Married Filing Separately
• Married Filing Jointly
• Head of Household
• Qualifying Widow(er)

While the Single and Married categories are straightforward, the Head of Household and Qualifying Widow(er) options can be a little more confusing. 

So, let’s break it down.

Head of Household is a filing status that gives a lower tax rate to unmarried folks who are taking care of dependents. To qualify, you must meet all three of these requirements:¹

• You are unmarried.
• You paid more than half of the cost of keeping up the home in that year (including expenses like rent or mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, mortgage interest, food costs, repairs and maintenance).
• You have one or more qualified dependents living with you for more than six months of the year (child, foster child, parent). Note: A dependent parent still qualifies even if they don’t live with you.

Qualifying Widow(er) is a status that allows you to keep all the benefits of the Married Filing Jointly status for two years after the year your spouse passes away.

We know—that sounds so impersonal. So first of all, if this is you, we’re sorry. It’s probably not easy to see those words on the screen. And it’s probably not the easiest situation to address. But we’re here to help answer all your money questions—even when they’re hard.

Now, if you filed as a Qualifying Widow(er), you will not receive a third stimulus check for your deceased spouse. But if your spouse died in 2020, you might be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit when filing your 2020 taxes.²

Include all the children you claim as dependents on your taxes—even adult children. While the first two stimulus packages had an age limit for dependents, this round includes all claimed dependents, regardless of age. That means kids in college and adult children with disabilities.

Adjusted gross income. Sounds scary, right? It’s actually not as scary as it sounds.

It means exactly what it says—your gross income adjusted.

Here’s how to get that number: Add up all the income you earn (before taxes are taken out), then subtract any adjustments or deductions, which could include:

• Student loan interest
• Health Savings Account deductions
• Retirement contributions
• Alimony payments (only if the divorce was before 2019)
• Educator expenses³

Why is your AGI important? It’s the number the IRS uses to determine how much of your income is taxable.

If you’re worried about having to calculate all these numbers on your own when filing your taxes, don’t be! That’s what a good online tax software (or tax professional) can do for you!

To quickly find your AGI, you can look at line 8b of your 2019 tax return (Form 1040). Or—if you’ve already filed for 2020, check line 11 of your 2020 tax return.

You could receive up to $1,400 per qualifying person, but it’s important to remember that the amount you get will depend on several factors:

• Your tax filing status
• How many dependents you claim
• Your AGI listed on your last tax return

The maximum AGI to get the full $1,400 per person is $75,000 if your filing status is Single, $112,500 for Head of Household, and $150,000 for Married Filed Jointly.

For example, if you’re married, making less than $150,000, and claimed three dependents on your 2020 tax return, you’ll get $7,000. (The math is 5 people x $1,400 per qualifying person = $7,000).

But not so fast—as with most government things, it’s not quite that simple. These numbers are the cutoff to get the full stimulus amount, but there’s also a sliding scale so people who make more than that can still get something. Of course, there’s an upper limit for that too:

• $80,000 for single filers
• $120,000 for head of household filers
• $160,000 for married couples filing jointly

If you earn more than these upper limits, you won’t get any stimulus money this time.

Hint: This math is complicated, but our third stimulus check calculator can do it all for you—sliding scale and all.

This means the amount of stimulus money you get will be based on your 2019 tax return.

But don’t get so excited about the stimulus money that you actually forget to file taxes this year! May 17 comes faster than you think. If you’re looking for online tax software that’s secure, easy and doesn’t have any hidden fees, check out Ramsey SmartTax.

You’re in luck. We wrote an in-depth article with all the details, including topics like:

• Am I eligible for the third stimulus check?
• How will I receive my check?
• What should I do with the money I get?
• What else is included in Biden’s stimulus bill?
• Will I have to pay back a previous stimulus check?