IRS Sent Out Stimulus Checks To Dead People. Now, It Wants That Money Back
CELINA, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - While millions are still waiting for their stimulus check, the IRS has been sending out checks to people who have died.
If you have received a stimulus check for a relative who has died, the government wants the money back.
Philip Shortino of Celina, Texas, received a stimulus check made out to his father who died in April 2018.
Shortino said for more than a week he tried contacting the IRS to find out what he needed to do.
"I tried calling. I tried looking on the IRS website. I couldn't get a response which is kind of ironic because, as we fall further and further into the depths of our national debt, I want to give them some money back and they're like, 'We can't tell you how to do it,'" he said.
On Wednesday the IRS updated its guidelines and for the first time posted on its website that the entire payment should be returned.
Here are the instructions from the IRS.
If the payment was a paper check:
- Write "Void" in the endorsement section on the back of the check.
- Mail the voided Treasury check immediately to the appropriate IRS location listed below.
- Don't staple, bend, or paper clip the check.
- Include a note stating the reason for returning the check.
If the payment was a paper check and you have cashed it, or if the payment was a direct deposit:
- Submit a personal check, money order, etc., immediately to the appropriate IRS location listed below.
- Write on the check/money order made payable to "U.S. Treasury" and write 2020EIP, and the taxpayer identification number (social security number, or individual taxpayer identification number) of the recipient of the check.
- Include a brief explanation of the reason for returning the EIP.
For your paper check, the IRS mailing address for Texas residents is:
Austin Refund Inquiry Unit
3651 S Interregional Hwy 35
Mail Stop 6542
Austin, TX 78741
Shortino said he's sending the IRS his late father's check along with a certified copy of his death certificate.
The Celina resident said it seemed ironic that the IRS is requesting him to explain why he is returning the check when the IRS noted on the check his father was deceased – marking the check with the abbreviation "DECD" after his name.
