Second Stimulus Check Calculator - $600 EIP2 Estimate

The second stimulus check calculator estimates the second-round Economic Impact Payment authorized by the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and issued by the IRS between late December 2020 and January 2021. Use it to reconstruct a $600 payment, compare a 2020 deposit to the expected amount, or check whether a household qualified for the child add-on. The page is a historical review tool, not a place to request a new payment.

• • Bank-statement reconciliation: Match a December 2020 or January 2021 deposit against the expected $600 base plus any per-child add-on.
• • Recovery Rebate Credit review: Estimate the second-round amount you were entitled to in case you claimed the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit.
• • Round 1 versus Round 2 comparison: Separate the $500 child add-on from Round 1 (CARES Act) from the $600 child add-on in Round 2.

Round 2 was structured as an advance refundable tax credit, not as earned income. The IRS used the 2019 return to calculate the advance payment, so this calculator asks for the same 2019-era AGI that appeared on the original determination.

A zero result is meaningful: it usually means the AGI fully phased out the payment, the dependent screen blocked personal eligibility, or the filer was claimed on someone else's return. Read the breakdown lines, not just the headline number, when reconciling.

If you also need the first- and third-round EIP amounts alongside Round 2, Stimulus Payment Calculator estimates all three federal rounds from a single filing-status and AGI input set.

The EIP2 calculation is a base amount plus a per-child add-on, reduced by 5 percent of the AGI above the filing-status threshold, and floored at zero. The dependent screen runs first and overrides the math entirely.

• Base: $600 for single, head of household, and married filing separately filers; $1,200 for married filing jointly filers.
• Per-child add-on: $600 for each qualifying child under 17 at the end of the tax year who was claimed as a dependent.
• AGI threshold: $75,000 for single and MFS, $112,500 for head of household, and $150,000 for married filing jointly.
• Phaseout rate: 5 percent of AGI above the threshold reduces the maximum payment; the modeled cutoff is $87,000 single, $124,500 HoH, and $174,000 MFJ.

The phaseout is linear and not bracketed. A single filer at $80,000 loses $250 of the $600 base, a single filer at $85,000 loses $500, and a single filer at $87,000 loses the full $600. After the modeled cutoff, the payment stays at zero even if AGI keeps rising.

Married filing jointly doubles the base to $1,200 and the AGI threshold to $150,000, but a couple in the phaseout zone still sees the same 5 percent rate applied to AGI above $150,000.

According to Internal Revenue Service, eligible individuals received $600, with another $600 for each qualifying child under 17, and the payment phased out at 5 percent of AGI above the filing-status threshold

For a side-by-side view of the third-round rules that replaced Round 2 in March 2021, American Rescue Plan Calculator shows the $1,400 base, broader dependent definition, and linear phaseout of the American Rescue Plan.

A few terms determine the result. Each definition is anchored to the EIP2 rules.

Round 2 differs from Round 1 in the per-child add-on ($600 versus $500) and from Round 3 in the per-adult amount and dependent definition.

The advance payment was tied to the 2019 return, but the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit reconciled the amount against the 2020 return. The calculator is a pre-reconciliation estimate based on the 2019-era facts the IRS originally used.

If you want to see how the same AGI moves through ordinary federal income-tax brackets in 2019 or 2020, Tax Bracket Calculator lays out the marginal rates and the standard deduction alongside the same filing-status inputs.

Work from the 2019 federal return when possible. The IRS used that return to determine the EIP2 advance, so the inputs here mirror that decision.

1. 1 Choose filing status: Pick the filing status shown on the 2019 return the IRS used for the advance payment.
2. 2 Enter 2019 AGI: Use the AGI from line 8b of the 2019 Form 1040, not a current-year number or household estimate.
3. 3 Count qualifying children under 17: Enter the dependents under 17 at the end of 2019. Adult dependents do not count for Round 2.
4. 4 Confirm the dependent screen: If you could be claimed as a dependent on another 2019 return, the result is zero even if the AGI is well below the threshold.
5. 5 Read the breakdown: Look at the per-adult base, the per-child add-on, the AGI phaseout, and the total together so you can match each line to a 2019 return fact.

A single filer with $80,000 of 2019 AGI and no qualifying children should expect a $350 payment: the $600 base minus the $250 phaseout from 5 percent of the $5,000 AGI above the $75,000 threshold. A joint filer with the same AGI and two children would get the $1,200 joint base plus the $1,200 child add-on; the AGI is below the joint threshold and the full $2,400 stands.

When you also want to see how federal withholding from current paychecks compares to the 2019-era AGI used for the EIP2 advance, Paycheck Tax Calculator shows the withholding math for the current year.

The EIP2 rules are short on paper but easy to misremember. This page keeps the math, the dependent screen, and the cross-round context in one place.

• • Clean round separation: Keeps the $600 Round 2 base separate from the $1,200 Round 1 base and the $1,400 Round 3 base.
• • Per-adult and per-child visibility: Shows the $600 base and $600 per-child add-on as separate lines so you can match each one to a 2019 return fact.
• • Phaseout math at a glance: Surfaces the 5 percent reduction above the threshold, including the modeled cutoffs where the payment fully phases out.
• • Recovery Rebate Credit support: Helps you reconstruct the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit amount if you had to claim it on a 2020 return.
• • Dependent-screen awareness: Flags filers who were claimable as another taxpayer's dependent and explains why their personal payment was $0.

Two adults in the same household can see different numbers even with similar AGI. Differences in qualifying children under 17 or dependent status will move the per-child add-on and the dependent screen independently.

This second stimulus check calculator is also useful when reconciling a tax-preparer note. The 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit on Schedule 3 should be close to the modeled EIP2 estimate if the 2019 and 2020 returns agreed on AGI, filing status, and dependents.

If you also need the 2020 California state-level payment that ran alongside the federal EIP2 advance, California Stimulus Check Calculator estimates the Golden State Stimulus II amount from 2020 California return facts.

Small changes in the inputs move the result from a full payment to a phaseout or to zero. The biggest levers are filing status, AGI, and the qualifying-child count.

• • The calculator reflects the EIP2 advance rules. It does not reproduce the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit reconciliation against a 2020 return, which can change the final amount if 2019 and 2020 facts differed.
• • It does not cover every administrative detail, such as direct deposit, paper check, EIP card, or offset against a federal debt.
• • Round 2 is a closed program. The 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit claim window has passed, and the IRS no longer issues new EIP2 payments.

The 2019 AGI was used to issue the advance payment, but the 2020 tax return was the final reconciliation. If your 2020 return showed a different AGI, the 2020 Recovery Rebate Credit on Schedule 3 may differ from the modeled EIP2 estimate here.

The second stimulus check calculator keeps state-level relief programs out of scope. The California stimulus check is the most visible state-specific program, but other states issued their own one-time payments. This page stays on the federal EIP2 rules only.

According to Internal Revenue Service, second-round Economic Impact Payments began going out in late December 2020, with the full $600 amount going to single filers with AGI up to $75,000, head of household filers with AGI up to $112,500, and joint filers with AGI up to $150,000

According to Internal Revenue Service, the second-round Economic Impact Payment was $600 per eligible adult and per qualifying child under 17, distinguishing it from the first round's $500 child add-on and the third round's broader $1,400 dependent definition

For the state-side tax picture that may have intersected with a 2020 federal return alongside the EIP2 advance, State Tax Calculator covers ordinary state income-tax estimates using a different set of rules.