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Stimulus Check Update: How to Handle a Stimulus Check Sent to a Dead Person

Stimulus Check Update: How to Handle a Stimulus Check Sent to a Dead Person

In a rare act of bipartisan unity, Congress passed the CARES Act in late March, 2020. The IRS, tasked with getting the first round of stimulus payments out the door and into the hands of American families, sent over 1 million stimulus checks to people who were dead. Part of that was due to the speed with which the IRS was expected to distribute checks, and part was because the IRS did not believe they had the authority to deny payments to people who filed a 2019 tax return -- whether they died in the interim or not.