After weeks, the House Democrats, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans have passed the US$787 Billion economic recovery package.
You can Read the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or Download the Legislation.
For tax questions, refer to the IRS Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
This is a summary of the 1,073 pages in the Bill which allocates US$787,241,000,000:
- Transportation and Housing: $61,795,000,000
- Aid to States: $53,600,000,000
- Tax Cuts: $301,278,000,000
- Individual Aid: $45,788,000,000
- Individual Healthcare Aid: $24,749,000,000
- Aid to States for Medicaid: $90,044,000,000
- Labor and volunteering, healthcare and social services, education, social security: $72,564,000,000
- Energy and the Environment: $50,825,000,000
- Commerce, justice and science: $15,920,000,000
- Food and Farming: $26,466,000,000
As you can see, more than 30% of it is going on Tax Cuts with the balance planned for stimulus spending. Generally, everyone will benefit with some more than others:
- Self-Employed: eligible for up to $400 a year for singles and $800 for couples
- 1st Time Home Buyers: claim up to $8,000 tax credit if you buy a home this year
- Home Energy Improvements: Up to $1,500 or 30% of project cost for energy efficiency credit
- Auto Buyers: deduct state and local sales or excise tax on the first $49,500 of the vehicle’s cost
- Students: Credit for college expenses increased from to $2,500 from $1,800 and the term extended from 2 to 4 years
- Unemployed: $25 increase in weekly check and potential to add 33 weeks of unemployment benefits
If you’re wondering how the economic stimulus bill affects you, click here for more information about the economic stimulus package in detail.
