Stimulus payments to people in jail or prison must be sent back, IRS says
TheInternal Revenue Service wants stimulus money sent to the incarcerated returned.
On Wednesday, the IRS updated its stimulus-related Frequently Asked Questions page, clarifying that any payments sent to people in jails, prisons or other correctional facilities should be returned.
As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act millions of Americans who meet certain income requirements have received or will receive a $1,200 stimulus payment. But the IRS says the incarcerated do not qualify.
Married couples who make less than $150,000 annually qualified for $2,400 joint stimulus payments. And the IRS says that those with a spouse who is incarcerated must send that person’s portion of the joint payment back.
The IRS has previously requested that payments sent to the deceased be returned by their family members.
This isn’t the first time this has happened.
About 89,000 checks of $250 were sent to deceased or incarcerated people under the Obama Administration’s stimulus package during the Great Recession, McClatchy News reports.
Of those, 17,348 went to incarcerated people, according to an audit done by the Office of Inspector General and the Social Security Administration. However, most of them were eligible to receive a payment because the package didn’t exclude eligible recipients who were jailed or imprisoned.
The IRS gives instructions on its FAQs page on how those who are incarcerated shouldreturn checks.
For paper checks, “void” should be written on the endorsement line and the check should be sent back to the designated IRS location based on state, with a note giving the reason for its return.
If the check was already cashed or if the payment was sent via direct deposit, a personal check or money order should be mailed to the listed location. It should be made payable to “U.S. Treasury” and “2020EIP” and the person’s taxpayer identification number should be written on the check.
A brief explanation for returning it should also be included.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Stimulus payments to people in jail or prison must be sent back, IRS says."
