In addition to the $ 1,400 payment to US taxpayers, the latest economic relief package passed by Congress last March contains another “secret” stimulus check that could provide much more help.
The American Rescue Plan law authorized the sending of stimulus checks to eligible individuals and extended the Child Tax Credit to parents with payments of up to $ 3,600 per child.
But the legislation included other profit opportunities that may not have been obvious.
Various provisions of the legislation affect 2020 tax returns.
One provision excludes from earnings up to $ 10,200 in unemployment compensation. Another provision benefits many people who purchased subsidized health coverage through the state or federal health insurance marketplaces.
MORE RELIEF
But there is a specific benefit that is a little-known way to get more relief for people who have their own home.
The “secret” stimulus check, the so-called Homeowner Assistance Fund, featured in the latest stimulus package, is a lesser-known type of COVID-19 relief that could help millions of homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. .
In February, nearly 3 million homeowners were behind on their mortgage payments and approximately 2.1 million were in forbearance.
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This mortgage relief is in addition to the federal moratorium on foreclosure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government set aside about $ 10 billion for direct financial assistance to help homeowners pay their mortgages, taxes, utilities, insurance, and homeowners association dues.
Forbes magazine reported that the Treasury Department is sending money to states to distribute aid through state housing agencies.
The amount of assistance to each state will depend on the number of late mortgage payments and foreclosures that have been reported, along with unemployment statistics and related local data.
To qualify for assistance, individuals must own their homes, and have a mortgage with a balance of less than $ 548,250.
At least 60% of the mortgage aid must be allocated to mortgage borrowers who have incomes below the national median income or the respective local median income, whichever is greater.
For more information on this help, contact your state housing agency.
Each state will receive at least $ 50 million from the Homeowners Assistance Fund. According to the Treasury Department, New York State will receive $ 539.5 million, behind only California ($ 1.06 billion), Florida ($ 676 million) and Texas ($ 842 million).
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