About 120 million U.S. taxpayers will qualify for direct payments from the government under the historic $2.2 trillion economic relief bill to combat the impact of the coronavirus, according to an analysis by a center-right think tank.

American Action Forum said IRS statistics show that 120 million taxpayers in 2017 were in income brackets meeting the bill’s guidelines for the new cash payments. The program is expected to cost the government around $300 billion.

GOPUSA Editor’s Note: The government does not create money, it creates debt.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin has said checks of up to $1,200 per person and $500 per child will go out within three weeks of President Trump signing the legislation, which could come as early as Friday. The House is expected to vote on the package on Friday, after the Senate unanimously approved the measure late Wednesday night.

The IRS will send the money by direct deposit to taxpayers who have set up that capability; otherwise checks will be mailed.

Individuals with income up to $75,000 will qualify for a one-time direct payment of $1,200. The program phases out at a rate of $5 for every $100 of income above $75,000, with an individual income cap of $99,000.

Married couples with combined incomes up to $150,000 would receive $2,400, subject to the same phaseout that applies to individuals. The payments would be phased out entirely for couples making $198,000 or more.

Payments for children will be phased out under the same guidelines. AAF said eligibility will be based on 2019 income tax filings where possible.

The measure waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty for qualifying individuals who want to withdraw up to $100,000 from retirement accounts without facing penalty. It would allow taxpayers to restore any withdrawn funds, and “would waive required minimum distribution rules for retirement accounts, preventing retirees from having to sell retirement assets during the downtown,” wrote Gordon Gray, director of fiscal policy at AAF.

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