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Third stimulus check timeline: When you could get $1,400 as part of Biden's COVID plan

While many are still waiting on their second stimulus payment, others are looking forward to a possible third payment.

Last week, then President-elect Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion plan to expand coronavirus vaccinations, help individuals and jump-start the economy.

Editor's note: the video in this story is from a Jan. 15 broadcast and reports on President Biden's stimulus plan that he announced before he took office

The part of that plan that generated a lot of interest among the American people was talks of yet a third stimulus payment, offering more money than the second payment of $600.

RELATED: $1,400 stimulus checks to vaccines: Here's what's in Biden's plan

RELATED: Still no 2nd stimulus payment in the mail? You may not get it until February

Now that Biden has been sworn in as President of the United States, people are anxiously awaiting news of a third stimulus payment. That plan, however, requires congressional approval. And it is packed with proposals on health care, education, labor and cybersecurity — so there’s a lot to go over.

When will I get a $1,400 check third stimulus payment?

Don’t hold your breath, unfortunately. Alec Phillips, chief U.S. political economist with Goldman Sachs, tells CBS News the relief package could be passed in mid-February to mid-March. After the relief bill passes Congress, it must be signed by Biden. Then we would go through another round of payment distributions from the IRS — a process that twice before has shown it can be confusing and met with delays, involving direct deposit or mailed checks or mailed prepaid debit cards.

The first stimulus payment in early 2020 took a couple weeks to several months to get delivered. Some say they never received their first payment. The second round of checks / deposits started going out about a week after they were approved in late December 2020 — but some have found they are delayed or underpaid again, perhaps until after they file their 2020 taxes.

The best guess as to when that third payment will come — if at all

CBS News analysts predict that, in a best case scenario, the third stimulus payment (if approved) could start arriving by late February 2021 if the relief bill is approved and signed by mid-February. But if that package is stalled and passed at the end of March, the third payment won’t start arriving until early April or so.

CBS News and the Associated Press contributed to this report

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