Trump’s Executive Order: What Does That Mean For You?

President Trump has taken executive action in an attempt to provide relief for the American people. Here are the four actions proposed and what they actually mean:

1. $400 Unemployment Benefit – The Federal Government will contribute $300 of the $400 payment with the individual states to be responsible for the remaining $100 per person per week. These payments would start retroactively on August 1. Some fear this will create a burden on the already penny-pinching state departments. President Trump plans to fund the unemployment benefit with leftover or unspent FEMA funds.

1. Eviction Order Protections – The language of this executive order is complicated, but definitive. The order doesn’t specifically halt evictions, however, leaves the decision for evictions in the hands of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield. The order also doesn’t say if there will be financial relief provided to renters, leaving that decision to Mnuchin and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

1. Student Loan Payment Deferral – This action moves to waive student loan interest until December 31, extending the current relief under the CARES Act that is set to expire at the end of September. Payments are scheduled to restart on January 1, 2021. This is exclusively for loans held by the Department of Education and does not apply to privately held student loans.

1. Payroll Tax Cut – This seeks to defer your federal tax withholding, which means you take home more money per paycheck – temporarily. Since this is deferral and not tax forgiveness, you would still have to pay those taxes after the deferral period passes (without interest or tax). The memo also includes language to explore avenues for eliminating the deferred tax altogether. This would cover a four-month period from September 1 through December 31 for people earning less than $100,000/year.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to one of our advisors on how this might affect your current financial situation, please click here! For more information and the full article, click here!