$1,400 in direct payments Biden had promised $2,000 checks in the days leading up to the Georgia Senate runoffs, but the plan he unveiled after his inauguration called for $1,400 checks. That's what made it into the stimulus Congress sent to his desk. Biden said the total will add up to $2,000 a person after people received $600 checks as part of the $900 billion stimulus package President Donald Trump signed into law in December. People making more than $80,000 a year for an individual or $160,000 a year for a couple won't get checks. People's income will be measured according to their most recent tax filing. The checks are popular with the public and were started as part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Trump signed into law in March. In that package, most people received $1,200 direct payments.