Here's what the $2T coronavirus bill could mean for taxpayers

The Senate is gearing up to vote on a $2T coronavirus relief bill. Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman and National Taxpayers Union Senior Fellow Mattie Duppler discuss the impact the bill could have on taxpayers.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Await the Senate vote on the stimulus bill to come through. And a piece of that stimulus measure is going to be including sending checks, reportedly worth about $1,200, to Americans, with $500 available per child for families looking for assistance here. And a lot of people are wondering, what should I do if I am to receive a stimulus check like that? Potentially you have capabilities to invest it or save it away, or should you be spending?

And that is a question we're going to be addressing right now in our Best Financial Strategy Segment-- Spending Smart Segment presented by TracFone. I want to bring on Mattie Duppler. She is a Senior Fellow at the National Taxpayers Union.

And Mattie, when we look at this, a lot of questions are out there right now in terms of what Americans should be doing with that money, depending on their financial situation right now. But what would you advise people to look at and figure out how much they should have saved before they even think about spending a stimulus check?

MATTIE DUPPLER: Well, first, Zack, let me be clear-- here in DC, things are still in flux. So the final checks that go out the door could look different than what we are considering today. But right now, the contours of that money-- it looks like about $1,200 per individual, and $500 for a child in your household.

And that'll start to phase out over a certain income threshold. So if you're someone who's making over $75,000, it starts to phase out, probably completely phased out by $98,000. For married-- married individuals, it starts to phase out about $150,000. And the IRS will be using information on your tax returns from last year or the year prior to make that determination.

So that's something you should consider first and foremost. Don't be betting on this money to be coming in the door. Look at your own financial situation. And if your financial situation changed this year, which will be likely for many individuals, given the current circumstances, thanks to coronavirus, you'll need to take that into account when you're planning for the rest of the year.

Because come 2020, what you don't want is to have a tax shock, fronting that money to be combed back because you made more money this year than you did in the years prior. It doesn't look like that might be the case. It looks like the Senate bill might preserve that money for individuals, regardless of how much they make, the difference between 2020 and 2019.

But that's something you should be aware of, that previous drafts have said that they would require individuals to give some of that money back if they have too high of income.

ZACK GUZMAN: The other piece of this too, I mean, this is coming at a time that a lot of Americans-- I know we never want to call it a stimulus when you get your tax refund, because it's basically an interest-free loan to the government here--

MATTIE DUPPLER: We talk about this a lot, Zack. Yeah.

ZACK GUZMAN: You've got to be careful with that. But, I mean, when we look at, it's coming at around the same rate that we've seen in prior years. So that would be coming in.

But they've also delayed the tax filing date from April 15 to later in the year. So I mean, is that another piece of this that Americans should weigh when they're thinking about their economic situation going into this period?

MATTIE DUPPLER: Absolutely. A couple things that are different this year that you should consider when you're looking at your personal finances-- one, as you just mentioned, the tax filing deadline has been pushed to July 15. That, of course, will increase a little bit of liquidity in households that had owed. However, the IRS is encouraging folks that if they think they're getting a refund back, to file that tax return so you can get that money and have a little bit more cash flow.

A couple other things are happening that would be prudent for folks to look into. Student loans, the Trump administration has already announced that they're cutting federal loan rates to zero. There's also speculation that the education department will suspend any kind of collection on those loans.

But I would encourage your users just right now to take stock of what their biggest liabilities and debts are. And start calling the lenders to see if they'll give you some kind of reprieve on those-- on those loans. You know, if it's your mortgage, if it's your rent, if it's your student loans, check with your lender to see what they're doing in this time. We've seen a lot of reports from financial institutions and from landlords stepping up to try and-- try to blunt the impact of the coronavirus, particularly if you're going to be out of work, or looking at less income this year than you would have otherwise.

ZACK GUZMAN: All right, Mattie Duppler from the National Taxpayers Union, breaking it all down for us in today's Smart Segment, presented by TracFone. Appreciate you taking the time.

MATTIE DUPPLER: Good to see you.