WACO, TX — If you still haven't received your stimulus check, you're not the only one. Typically, those who haven't seen the funds haven't filed taxes yet or the IRS doesn't have your updated information.
While the IRS has outlined how to fix those problems, many other issues remain for other people.
Ninety million Americans have already received their economic stimulus checks, but many are still waiting. Accountant Mike Lucas of Patillo Brown & Hill Certified Public Accountants has heard from a lot of them.
"Whether it be the piece that should be designated for the child or children, or if you have since divorced or moved bank accounts, direct deposit versus paper check, there's a lot of those [reasons]," he said.
The Treasury Department started sending out paper checks on April 20, and aims to print out 5 million checks every week for up to 20 weeks.
Some who did get checks found them made out to a dead relative. Legal exerts say you can't keep an incorrect check.
"The way that the Treasury and the IRS is looking at situations like this is that $1,200 is unfortunately not considered a windfall. You don't get to keep it. Don't spend it. You need to put it aside and make sure it gets back to the government," explained Attorney Joshua Weaver.
Only now have we learned how to give that money back.
"There's actually an address now. You can either void the check, mail it back to them, or, in the case of direct deposit, then you write a personal check and reimburse, and there's instructions on how to do that. Today's the first we've seen of that," said Lucas, who adds you can find the information in a frequently asked questions section of the IRS website.
If you're married to a non-U.S. citizen without a Social Security number and who uses a special taxpayer ID number, there's bad news for you.
"If you are married to a person who uses one of those alternative numbers, then the government has said that you are actually both ineligible to receive a stimulus check. This has come as a big shock to a lot of people," said Weaver.
This includes those who've gone by the book and paid taxes. That's why attorneys for those people filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in Maryland over the issue.
Meantime if you can't figure out why you didn't get your check, Lucas has this advice
"Yeah, best advice is just be patient with it and stick with it," he said.
While leaders in Washington say they want to help, an already downsized IRS continues dealing with its own workforce issues as a result of the coronavirus, practically ensuring that help will likely come very slowly.
