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COVID-19

The average Spokane County person is eligible for a stimulus check, but you don’t need to sign up to get one

The average person in Spokane County will be eligible for the full payment Congress approved for individuals in its $2 trillion coronavirus bill Friday, though locals may want to check what address they last gave the IRS or if they signed up for direct deposit.

Single adults with a social security number are eligible for the $1,200 payment approved in the emergency stimulus bill, which includes those who earn wages, are on social security or a pension. The stimulus bill also includes $500 per child claimed on taxes. A family of four could be eligible for up to $3,400 and a single parent with two children could be eligible for $2,200.

People who make up to $70,000 are eligible for $1,200, and those who make above that have the amount reduced on a sliding scale.

The average person in Spokane will be well below that threshold. In 2018, the tax year that will be used to determine most people’s income if they have not already filed their taxes, the median income for Spokane was estimated to be $54,800, according to census data.

President Trump signed the emergency stimulus bill into law, which also includes loans and aid for businesses, on Friday afternoon. The U.S. Treasury Department, which will be tasked with implementing the measure, has not shared details on how it will release the money and when but posted a statement this week noting that the public does not need to sign up.

In an interview with CNBC Thursday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said checks would be in the mail, or direct deposited, within three weeks but did not offer other specifics.

“We are determined to get money in people’s pockets immediately,” he said.

People who did not sign up for direct deposit when they filed their 2018 taxes may be able to do so when they file their 2019 taxes, but the IRS has not publicized another way to sign up for direct deposit. Those who haven’t signed up already, may have to wait for a check in the mail, which would likely go to wherever they instructed the IRS to send their last tax return.