Many recent divorcees are missing stimulus checks (and may have a hard time getting them)
There’s one big problem for some individuals who divorced between tax years 2018 and 2019
FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence on the fourth round of coronavirus stimulus, which sources say is aiming to be $1 trillion or less.
Recent divorcees could find themselves on a list of people who did not receive an economic impact payment yet from the IRS.
According to a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration, about 125,132 people who divorced between tax years 2018 and 2019 may be missing their money.
That’s probably because, subsequent to issuance of the payment, one of the individuals filed a 2019 tax return that was not a joint return (which could indicate single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower or married filing separately). The payment, however, would have been sent to the joint bank account shown on the 2018 return.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED 2 STIMULUS CHECKS – BY MISTAKE
Depending on your situation, it may not be easy to retrieve the payment, either. The IRS considers obtaining the funds a civil matter to be handled between the two individuals, according to the report.
'PHASE 4' CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS BILL: THE PROPOSALS UNDER SERIOUS CONSIDERATION
While about 98 percent of payments were accurate, according to the report, one of the other complications that arose was that thousands of people received duplicate payments.
About 46,760 individuals mistakenly received two payments as of May 21, an error totaling more than $69 million. This included people who filed as Married Filing Jointly in 2018 as the secondary taxpayer on a return and filed as single in 2019, and vice versa.
The IRS is asking these people to voluntarily return the duplicate payments.
Another 1.2 million payments (less than 1 percent of the 157 million) went to dead or incarcerated individuals.
Additionally, 309,601 payments were issued to people who were likely non-residents.
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Meanwhile, some people still have not received their payments. Those people include more than 1.3 million Social Security and Veterans Administration beneficiaries.
Administration officials and top Republican lawmakers have indicated that another stimulus check is a possibility. Here’s a look at what we know about some of the limitations being discussed so far.
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