Will you get your own third stimulus check? Why the rules for qualifying as an adult could change

Here's how to find out if you'll get your own stimulus check, contribute to your family's total or get nothing at all, and how the eligibility rules are likely to change in the third round.

If and when a third stimulus check is approved, will I be eligible to get my own payment? Will my money go toward my family's total, or will I be left out all together? If you're a young adult aged 17 to 24, or an older adult who is someone else's dependent, these are likely the questions on your mind, since neither of these groups were eligible to get any stimulus money at all in the first two rounds of stimulus checks. But the current version of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, making its way through Congress now, changes the definition of an eligible dependent to include people of all ages, not just children 16 and under. 

This means all dependents could potentially get a payment of up to $1,400 -- but it likely wouldn't arrive as a check of your own. While this is likely welcome news for families who would benefit from the extra money per dependent, whenever the third stimulus check arrives, the situation can still get complicated for young adults who are trying to figure out when exactly they would be eligible to get a separate payment that's all theirs. 

Below, we'll explain what happens depending on your situation, including if you're a student, if you live on your own and are employed, if you're in the military, if you receive SSI or SSDI, if you're married or a parent, or if you're in a child-support situation. Now that it's tax season, we've also got information about how some young adults could retroactively get the original stimulus payment of up to $1,200, as well as the second stimulus payment of up to $600. This story was recently updated.

Does the IRS count me as an adult or dependent for stimulus checks?

The first stimulus payment sent out under the March CARES Act allocated up to $1,200 for qualifying American adults, and $500 for the dependents listed on their 2019 tax returns -- so long as they were age 16 or younger. The second stimulus payment, which the IRS finished sending out Jan. 15 under the December $900 billion bill, allocated up to $600 per qualifying American adult and $600 for the dependents listed on their 2019 tax returns who were age 16 or younger at that time. While the amount of money changed from the first check to the second, the rules for who qualified as a child dependent did not. 

To qualify for your own second stimulus check, you need to have filed your 2019 taxes independently, which means no one else claimed you on their taxes as a dependent. You also had to have an adjusted gross income, or AGI, of under $75,000 to receive the full amount. (The sum decreases as your AGI goes up, and this time around, if you make over $87,000 as a single taxpayer, you aren't eligible for a check.)

There are two different sets of rules for who counts as an adult or a dependent under current tax law, according to Janet Holtzblatt, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. 

One is the support test. If you're unmarried, you don't claim children as your own dependents, your parents provide you with financial support equal to or greater than half of your annual income and you made less than $4,200 in 2019, then your parents can still claim you as their dependent. Another is the residency test: If you're a full-time student under the age of 24 who resides with an adult taxpayer more than half of the year (unless you're living on a college campus), you can be claimed as a dependent, no matter how much money you make. 

The IRS will likely use either your 2019 or 2020 tax return to determine your eligibility for a third stimulus check, if one is passed -- whichever is on file more recently. We recommend filing your taxes as soon as possible and setting up direct deposit with the IRS so the agency has your most recent information on file -- especially if 2020 was the first year that you were financially independent, and no longer count as a dependent. (Find out what else you need to know about what will happen if a third check arrives during tax season, and the potential pitfalls that could happen if it does.)

Why were young adults excluded from receiving the first and second stimulus check?

People aged 17 through 24 were excluded from the CARES Act and the $900 billion bill because of a tax code definition of "child" that states a "qualifying child ... has not attained age 17." That means even 17- or 18-year-old high school students who clearly lived with a parent or guardian were excluded as dependents and weren't counted for a $500 or $600 addition to the family check. 

The reason for this age cutoff has to do with the child tax credit, established in 1997, which allows parents to receive up to a $2,000 tax refund for each child under the age of 17 each year they file. We can only speculate as to why this definition wasn't expanded to include young adults, but the reason is probably the additional cost to the federal government of extending the credit to more people, Holtzer said. 

This group was likely excluded from the second stimulus check to keep costs down. However, Biden's proposal includes dependents of all ages in a third stimulus check. 

When would a 17- to 24-year-old qualify to receive their own stimulus check?

It depends. If you became financially independent in 2020, and you file your 2020 tax return in spring 2021 independently, you'll receive the first stimulus check of up to $1,200 and the second check of up to $600 sometime in 2021 on your tax refund, Holtzer said. All you have to do is file your tax return for 2020 and claim the money as Recovery Rebate Credit, so long as you meet the regular eligibility criteria for a stimulus payment. 

If you're filing taxes independently, the amount of money you would get in a second stimulus payment would depend on your adjusted gross income, which you can also find on your taxes. Check out our story on how to calculate how much money you should have gotten in a second check. But if a parent or guardian claims you as a dependent on their taxes, you won't get a check of your own. And if you're in that 17-to-24 age range, you likely won't get any money allocated toward your family's payment, either. 

For a third check, if you're in the 17-to-24 age range and listed as a dependent, you will be eligible for a payment of up to $1,400 (assuming the current proposal becomes law). However, that money will be added on to your family's total, unless one of the situations below applies to you.

What if you're claimed as a dependent on someone's taxes, but you work or attend college? 

Even if you work or go to college full-time (or both), you still count as a dependent if you meet either the support test or the residency test mentioned above. Basically, if you rely on your parents or guardians for more than half of your financial support, if you made less than $4,200 in 2019 or you're a full-time student under age 24 who resides with a parent or guardian while not in school, or both, you likely still meet the requirements to count as a dependent. 

However, dependents still have to file tax returns, too. Income for dependents falls into two categories: earned income (money earned from working) and unearned income (money earned from investments like the stock market). Those requirements for filing are based on income, so if dependents are receiving either earned or unearned income, they or their parents will need to file a tax return for them.

What if you're considered an emancipated minor? 

If you've been emancipated from your parents by a court or through marriage (state laws apply in both cases), you likely wouldn't count as anyone's dependent (assuming you provide more than half of your own financial support and don't live with your parent or guardian anymore), and would file taxes independently. So you'd be eligible for your own stimulus check if you met the requirements. 

What if you're currently enlisted in the US armed forces?

If you're age 17 or older and have enlisted in the US armed forces, you're considered emancipated from your parents or guardians and would file taxes independently. Therefore, you would be eligible for your own stimulus check if you met the requirements. 

What if you're under 24 but married or have a child?

If you're under age 24 but are married or have a child of your own whom you claim as a dependent, you're considered independent by the IRS. Therefore, you'd be eligible for your own stimulus check if you meet the requirements. 

What if you pay or receive child support?

Typically, the custodial parent is the one who claims the child on their taxes, while the noncustodial parent pays child support. There are some cases where your stimulus check may have been garnished to help pay your child support. If you owe more than $150 in overdue child support (called arrears), your state may reserve the right to garnish some or all of your first stimulus check, based on how much you owe. If you're owed child support, you may receive money garnished from your child's other parent, though it may take a while to get to you after it is processed by the state. 

For parents who have joint custody, it's possible that both could get an extra $500 per child dependent as part of their check. It may be the case again with the $600 per-child payment. Find out everything you need to know about stimulus checks and child support here. 

What if you're an SSI or SSDI recipient?

If you're a young person who is part of the Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance program, things can get complicated when it comes to stimulus payments. Here are three different circumstances people who receive these benefits may face, and how it might work for you, according to Holtzblatt: 

Scenario 1: You are a full-time student and live with your parents for more than half the year (you're considered to be living at home even if you live in a dorm part of the time). You could be claimed as a dependent by your parents, and therefore would not be eligible for a stimulus payment under the CARES Act and the December stimulus bill. 

Scenario 2: You are not a student, but receive more than half of your support/living expenses from your parents or others (like grandparents). If you meet certain other criteria, the person providing support could claim you as a dependent, and therefore you would not be eligible for a stimulus payment under the CARES Act or the December stimulus bill. 

Scenario 3: More than half of your support/living expenses are paid by your SSI or SSDI check. As long as you're not a full-time student or living at home, you cannot be claimed as a dependent, and thus would be eligible for a stimulus payment under the CARES Act. If that was the case for you, you should have received your first check automatically. The same was true for a second check. 

Another question we don't have the answer to is, how extensive was the IRS's verification process for eligibility? The agency knew who received Social Security benefits, at least as of a certain date. But we don't know if the IRS was able to identify who among those people was a dependent of another taxpayer when the payments were distributed, Holtzblatt said. 

We also don't know how this will play out for a third check yet. 

Find out more about how SSDI and SSI impact stimulus payments here.

What if the IRS made a mistake?

Millions of people didn't receive their second stimulus check due to IRS errors and other issues. At this point, to claim any missing money, you'll have to file a claim with the IRS during the upcoming tax season that runs through April 15 (though lawmakers are trying to extend the deadline). Here's everything you need to know about the Recovery Rebate Credit you'll need to claim on your taxes, and, for certain cases, reporting missing money or errors to the IRS. 

For more information, find out how soon you could expect a third stimulus check, and how much money you and your family could be eligible for with a third check.