Stimulus check: why are some payments being canceled?
According to the Internal Revenue Service the FBI are tracking and canceling stimulus checks that have been sent by mistake amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent out over 160 million stimulus checks since the CARES Act was approved in late March amid the coronavirus pandemic in the USA. Americans struggling during the outbreak received a single payment of $1,200 per individual and up to $2,400 per household.
The IRS said that the FBI have been tracking and canceling some stimulus checks that were issued to recipients who were not eligible for Economic Impact Payments (EIPs). Included in this pool of canceled checks and debit cards are those who are deceased but still received a payment.
IRS recommends returning the check
Nearly $1.4 billion in coronavirus stimulus payments was wrongly sent to some 1.1 million deceased people in the US according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GOA), an independent watchdog. Even if the checks or debit cards have been canceled, the IRS suggests you should still return the payment to the government.
“A payment made to someone who died before receipt of the payment should be returned to the IRS by following the instructions about repayments. Return the entire payment unless the payment was made to joint filers and one spouse had not died before receipt of the payment, in which case, you only need to return the portion of the payment made on account of the decedent,” the IRS said on its website.
To return a check, you should write “void” in the endorsement section on the back of the check. Those in New Jersey should mail the check to: Kansas City Refund Inquiry Unit, 333 W Pershing Rd., Mail Stop 6800, N-2, Kansas City, MO 64108.