Tens of thousands are expected to receive stimulus payments in September that were mistakenly withheld in the midst of the rush to dole out stimulus payments earlier this year.
The Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday that it would distribute catch-up Economic Impact Payment checks to nearly 50,000 people whose payments were diverted to pay for their spouse’s past-due child support. The payments will be mailed as checks to eligible spouses who submitted Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, along with their 2019 federal income tax return, or in some cases, their 2018 return.
“These spouses do not need to take any action to get their money. The IRS will automatically issue the portion of the EIP that was applied to the other spouse’s debt,” according to a release from the IRS.
Those in the same boat who did not file the proper forms will also receive payment, but the time frame on those payments is unknown.
Eligible recipients can check the status of their payment by using the Get My Payment tool, available only on IRS.gov.
Those anticipating the next round of stimulus checks that have been debated in Congress will still have to wait.
More than 4 million who filed paper tax returns months ago reportedly are waiting for their refunds.
The Trump administration had been actively working with congressional powers to provide answers on the next round of stimulus relief, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. The discussions with Mnuchin, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) have remained unsuccessful thus far.
While the Democrats foresee the $3 trillion HEROES Act as the answer to resolving the country’s financial grief, the Republicans have continued to rally behind their $1 trillion HEALS Act.
The House is not scheduled to return to Washington until mid-September.
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