With the speed with which the IRS issued out their stimulus check payments the previous year, it should come as no surprise that they did make some mistakes. It could have been a minor mistake of their sending out too much money to a single individual- or it could be something major. Nevertheless, one shouldn’t be surprised if they get a letter in the mail from the IRS for repayment- if they fall under a certain category.
Stimulus Check Can Be Repaid Under Extenuating Circumstances
One of the reasons why the IRS might ask you to repay a certain amount of the money is because you earned too much. As you know, all three stimulus check payments came with a strict threshold for income. Once a member of a family touches that threshold, they wouldn’t be receiving any stimulus payment further. Out of the millions of stimulus payments that were sent out last year, it is reasonable to imagine that some of them were later found to be sent to those people whose income had exceeded the threshold.
Another reason why the IRS would ask for repayment is if you received a stimulus check for someone who had passed away. If you are not aware of this, the day of someone’s death would determine if they should be receiving a stimulus payment. As far as the IRS is considered, the agency has made it very clear that payments that were sent in 2020 to people intended- only for them to pass away in 2019- would need to be repaid.
Also, your payments need to be repaid if you are not a citizen of the USA. It doesn’t matter if you have lived in the country for long and have paid your income taxes. If you have received a stimulus check payment from the IRS, it is possible that it was nothing but a mistake from the government.
