Pictured Above: Alexendra Davis (left) was forced to wait and hope her unemployment benefits activated soon enough to pay her rent when she was excluded from the first round of stimulus payments. Madison Hursh was unable to receive stimulus payments or unemployment benefits for nearly seven months due to her adult dependent status.
Courtesy of Alexendra Davis and Madison Hursh
By Catherine Hicks
In the second round of stimulus funding, adult dependents once again saw themselves excluded from receiving a payment.
The exclusion of adult dependents from stimulus funding has deprived them of $1800 in aid throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2018 survey of 17 million undergraduate students showed that roughly half are considered financially independent from their parents, even if they are being claimed as an adult dependent on their parents taxes, NPR reported.
Though they didn’t receive the financial benefits of being an independent tax filer, college students were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic job losses.
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, in Dec. 2019 the unemployment rate for people ages 20 to 24 was 6.6 percent. By April 2020, it had risen to 25.6 percent, before beginning a slow but gradual climb in the following months. As of Dec. 2020, the unemployment rate remained 4.6 percent higher than the previous year at 11.2 percent.
USF students agree it was during these first few months financial assistance was the most needed.
Alexendra Davis, a senior mass communications major, has been claimed as a dependent by her parents for the entirety of her college education though she lives out of state and supports herself.
“The first check would have helped me survive a lot more as I was unemployed and single at that time,” Davis said. “Instead, it was a waiting game for unemployment to kick in and hope it was in time. Luckily, it kicked in days before I was due for that month’s rent, and I was able to make it, but It would have been nice not to have to stress.
“It’s frustrating because I feel like I got screwed twice.Once being a dependent on my parents taxes, and losing out on the extra money that I would probably get for not being a dependent as well as the stimulus checks. College kids – a large group of the dependent adults – are the ones who could use the money. The stimulus checks are not huge, but they could make a difference for some twenty-year-old just trying to get by.”
Senior mass communications major Madison Hursh was unable to receive unemployment benefits for nearly seven months in addition to not receiving a stimulus check.
“(Due to) my transition from dependent to independent, I did not qualify for any form of unemployment or stimulus money until late September,” Hursh said. “My job put me on furlough for 5 of these 7 months and I did not receive any form of government assistance because of my dependency.
“I wish the government would consider the students who are still of the age to qualify as dependents, but also support themselves,” Hursh said. “I know that myself, and many of my peers did not receive a stimulus, were placed on furlough and left with no form of income. This was especially frustrating seeing other young adults who are not claimed on their parent’s taxes, had the opportunity to continue working during the lockdown, and were given the stimulus packages. Some students received zero money with no work for months, and some students made more money during the pandemic than ever before.”
Davis also expressed her disapproval with Congress’ decision to exclude adult dependents.
“If they’re going to make a stimulus check, they should make everyone relevant eligible. I pay my taxes and I am living on my own,” Davis said. “I’m not sure how even an adult dependent living at home was just forgotten about or chose to be left out.”
Davis and Hursh might see some relief in the potential third-round of stimulus payments.
When President Joe Biden introduced his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Jan. 14, he also announced that one of his goals for the relief bill is to expand stimulus payments to include adult dependents.
Some adult dependents will have the opportunity to recover the stimulus checks they weren’t able to receive during 2020 when filing their tax returns in February. If they file their taxes independently, not allowing their parents to claim them as a dependent, adult dependants will be able to receive the $1,800 in missed stimulus funds.
Hursh and Davis are both planning to file independently in order to receive their tax rebates and missed stimulus payments.
