U.S. tax authorities say special $1,400 payments will be made to 1 million taxpayers who did not claim under the 2021 recovery rebate program in what could be the final round of pandemic-era stimulus checks. announced.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said in an advisory that a study found that many eligible taxpayers did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments (EIPs), also known as stimulus payments. He said the spending was an “extraordinary measure”. .
According to the U.S. Treasury, there were three EIP payments to Americans during the pandemic totaling $4,500, amounting to approximately $931 billion from April 2020 to December 2021.
The estimated payment amount is approximately $2.4 billion.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (Care) Act of 2020 provided a record $1.8 trillion in funding to combat both the health crisis and the ensuing economic fallout from the pandemic.
But trillions more were spent through other government programs and Treasury Department initiatives.
The IRS said in a statement that eligible taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive these payments, and the payments will be made by direct deposit or check this month or by the end of January.
“The IRS continues to work hard to make improvements and assist taxpayers,” IRS Commissioner Danny Wuerffel said in a statement. “These payments are an example of our commitment to going the extra mile for taxpayers.”
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Delayed stocking payments to nearly 1 million Americans come as federal authorities continue to trace billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief money that may have been fraudulently obtained. .
A report released in April by the Department of Justice’s Coronavirus Enforcement Task Force (CFETF) found that more than 3,500 defendants had been criminally charged for losses of more than $2 billion, and more than $1.4 billion had been seized or forfeited. said that it was done.
“Our work is not done,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “We will continue our efforts to investigate and prosecute pandemic relief fraud and recover assets stolen from American taxpayers.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco called for an extension of the statute of limitations “for prosecutors to recover hundreds of millions of dollars more in fraudulent proceeds, bring the remaining criminals to justice, and disrupt the criminal networks that continue to victimize the public.”
