If you already have your second stimulus check, you’re one of the lucky majority who got their money before the Jan. 15 deadline imposed in the stimulus bill. And if you’re one of the millions who either have yet to receive their stimulus payment, or who got caught up in the IRS delivery error, stick around. This applies to you, too. Our stimulus check calculator below will help you estimate how much money you probably should be getting and help you flag any discrepancies that you may need to follow up on with the IRS.

After you’ve estimated your payment, use the IRS’ tool to see the status of your payment and a post office service to track your paper check directly to your mailbox. Working out the size of your new stimulus check can get complicated, especially since Congress changed some of the rules around who is eligible for a payment with this second round.

For example, there’s a lower income limit this time (you’ll need your adjusted gross income to figure that out) and new rules affecting people with “nonresident alien” status, which could prevent you from getting a check even if you got one the first payment. Dependents aged 17 to 24, along with most adult dependents, were once again left out completely. If the amount in your new, “$600” stimulus check isn’t correct, you may need to try to claim a make-up check on your taxes using the IRS’ Recovery Rebate Credit. (Here’s what to know about a $2,000 third stimulus check.) This story updates often.

Estimate the size of your ‘$600’ stimulus payment

To calculate how much you should get in your second stimulus payment, you’ll need to enter:

• Your adjusted gross income, or AGI, from your 2019 federal tax return. Find that figure on line 8b of the 2019 1040 federal tax form. (More below if you don’t typically file taxes.)
• The number of child dependents age 16 and younger that you claim. Remember, a single taxpayer has no dependents, and a head of household does not file jointly with a spouse and claims at least one dependent.

CNET’s stimulus calculator follows the same formula the IRS uses to tabulate your household’s stimulus payment. The result should be considered an estimate, not a guarantee of the IRS’ final check to you. This calculator tool will not store or share your personal information. 

If you don’t file taxes, do this

The IRS is automatically sending the $600 second stimulus checks to recipients, which is a double-sided coin. On the one hand, you aren’t required to do anything to receive it, but on the other, there’s also nothing you can do to correct it. 

For people who don’t normally file a tax return with the IRS, our best suggestion is to take your best guess in the calculator where it asks for your adjusted gross income, taking into account the yearly total of your income, this goes for older adults, Social Security and SSDI and SSI recipients, certain veterans and railroad retirees. The IRS refers loosely to this group as nonfilers. 

Many nonfilers will receive the full $600 per person, but the calculation could be a little more complex with the AGI of a spouse or child dependents in your household. If there’s an error or you don’t get your stimulus check, you may need to file a tax return in 2021 in order to claim your share of the stimulus money in a Recovery Rebate Credit.

Now playing:

Watch this:

Second stimulus checks: Everything you need to know

3:22

Quick reminder about second stimulus check qualifications

One interesting change is that the shift from a $1,200 check to a $600 check also disqualifies some households by lowering the income limit. The chart below demonstrates how, as you reach the upper AGI limit, the amount you’re owed will decrease.