Year-End Stimulus Bill to Provide Additional COVID-19 Relief

Year-End Stimulus Bill to Provide Additional COVID-19 Relief
December 2020

Overview
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law on December 27, 2020, funds the federal government and provides $900 billion in COVID-19 economic relief. The stimulus provisions includes new COVID-19 relief and extends several CARES Act provisions.

Some of the stimulus package provisions include:

Direct Stimulus Checks
Individuals earning up to $75,000 annually will receive one $600 payment (direct payments phase out at $99,000 of annual adjusted-gross income). Couples earning up to $150,000 will receive one $1,200 payment. Households will receive $600/child under age 17.

Small-Business Support
The law allocates $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help certain small businesses (those with fewer than 300 employees that experienced 25-percent revenue reductions in 2020) with payroll and specified expenses (eligible PPP recipients may re-apply). It includes $12 billion for minority-owned businesses and $20 billion for businesses in low-income areas.

The new law enables previous PPP recipients to deduct expenses associated with forgiven PPP loans, expands the employee-retention credit, and extends the payroll tax subsidy for employers providing paid sick leave. The law also provides $20 billion for specific Economic Injury Disaster Loan grants.

Unemployment Assistance
Those eligible for unemployment assistance will receive $300/week through March 14, 2021. Self-employed, gig, and workers who no longer receive state unemployment may qualify for this assistance through the extended Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Programs.

COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Support
The law includes $20 billion to help pay for vaccines, $9 billion to distribute vaccines, and $22 billion to help states test, trace, and reduce COVID-19 spread.

Eviction Bans and Rental Assistance
The relief package extends the federal-eviction ban through January 2021 and allocates $25 billion for federal rental support.

Check the NCCAOM COVID-19 Resource Page and the ASA COVID-19 Resource Page for more COVID-19 relief and guidance. Email for information on the COVID-19 relief package.