How this calculator works
The CASH Act of 2020 was a bill, not a law. It passed the House of Representatives on 28 December 2020 and was never voted on by the Senate. The bill would have raised the second round of economic impact payments from $600 to $2,000 for each eligible adult, or $4,000 for a married couple filing jointly. It would also have paid $2,000 for each dependent, defined broadly to include older children and adult dependents, who would have received nothing under the $600 scheme. The phase-out rules would not have changed: the payment falls by 5% of the amount by which adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 for single filers, $112,500 for heads of household or $150,000 for joint filers. Because the starting payment is larger, the income at which the payment reaches zero would have risen well above the enacted levels. A joint filer with two children would have had an $8,000 maximum and would not have reached zero until $310,000 of income. This calculator shows what the bill would have paid, not what anyone actually received.
Formula
Base = adult amount + $2,000 x dependents, where the adult amount is $2,000 for single and head of household or $4,000 for joint filers. Payment = base - 5% x max(0, income - threshold), never below zero. Threshold = $75,000 single, $112,500 head of household or $150,000 joint. Zero is reached at threshold + base / 0.05, which is threshold + 20 x base.
Worked example
A single filer with one dependent and $60,000 of income has a base of $4,000. Income is below the $75,000 threshold, so the payment is $4,000. At $85,000 the excess is $10,000 and the reduction is $500, leaving $3,500. A joint filer with two children has a base of $8,000 and reaches zero at $150,000 + $160,000 = $310,000.
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Frequently asked questions
Did the CASH Act become law?
No. It passed the House in December 2020 but the Senate did not take it up, so the $2,000 payments were never made under this bill. The enacted second round paid $600 per adult and $600 per dependent child.
Who would have counted as a dependent?
Anyone who qualified as a dependent under the tax code, not only children under 17. That would have included college students and adult relatives supported by the household, each worth $2,000.
Why would the zero point rise so much?
The phase-out rate stayed at 5%, but the starting payment grew. A fixed percentage of income takes longer to remove a larger payment, so the income at which the payment disappears moves up by 20 times the increase in the base.
Is this calculator useful today?
Only as a historical or comparative tool. The payments it describes never happened. For the enacted second round, use the $900 billion bill calculator.