The Treasury Department described the payments to the dead and those incarcerated as inadvertent.
The Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday updated its website to say that people who have died do not qualify for the coronavirus relief payments and that:"A Payment made to someone who died before receipt of the Payment should be returned to the IRS."Before that, it was unclear whether the payments, which amounted to as much as $1,200 for individuals, needed to be repaid.
The Treasury Department called the payments to deceased people as well as those who are incarcerated as inadvertent. Even before the formal guidance Wednesday, Jeanne Siracuse of northern Virginia planned to return to the Treasury the $1,200 that was direct deposited for her mother who died in August.The coronavirus payments were largely based on 2018 or 2019 federal tax returns. Social Security recipients did not have to file a tax return to get a payment.
The package was sparked by economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus epidemic, which resulted in businesses across the nation being shuttered.
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