IRS wants you to return coronavirus checks sent to dead relatives. Here’s the process

If the government sent a coronavirus payment to your dead relative, it wants you to send the money back.

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that anyone who got a payment on behalf of a deceased relative needs to send it back in full immediately, USA Today reported. Payments sent to a spouse who filed their taxes jointly with the deceased will only need to return their spouse’s portion of the money, according to USA Today.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that the government is able to track where checks were sent, although it’s unclear what the consequences will be if people don’t comply, Politico reported.

But how can you do that?

The IRS website says if you received a paper check, you should write “Void” in the endorsement section on the back of the check and mail it to the appropriate address depending on the state you live in. You can find yours here.

You should make sure not to staple, bend or paper clip the check and include a note explaining why you’re returning it, the IRS says.

If you have already cashed the check or if you received the payment via direct deposit, you should send a personal check or money order immediately to the appropriate IRS address, according to the agency’s website. Make the check or money order payable to the “U.S. Treasury” and write “2020EIP” and the taxpayer ID number (Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number) of the payment’s recipient on the check, the IRS says.

Include a note explaining the reason for returning the payment also, the agency says.

People who received payments on behalf of their dead relatives in 2008 could call the IRS and get an address to send the money back, AARP said. But the IRS said survivors of the deceased could keep the money back in 2008, Politico reported.

Some tax experts are questioning whether the IRS can actually mandate people to return the payments, according to Politico. The CARES Act has no specific language saying dead people can’t receive the payments, especially considering the dead usually get refunds on tax returns filed after they died, Politico reported.

Nina Olson, the founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, believes the IRS will face an uphill battle in trying to compel people to return the payments, according to USA Today.

“It may be the IRS made a mistake by making the payment to a deceased person,” Olson told USA Today. “It can certainly ask folks to give the money back. I don’t see the legal authority for adjusting it on the 2020 return.”

This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 4:18 PM with the headline "IRS wants you to return coronavirus checks sent to dead relatives. Here’s the process."