By Ethen Kim Lieser

The most up-to-date tally has revealed that the Internal Revenue Service has sent out nearly a hundred sixty million stimulus checks under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

With that many direct deposits, paper checks, and debit cards fast-tracked to cash-strapped Americans, there will likely be inaccuracies in the disbursed payment amounts.

Sometimes, they are too generous, and others have gotten underpaid.

There already have been reports of U.S. taxpayers receiving stimulus check amounts that seemed to be too much, which could potentially occur if divorced parents both receive payments for the same dependents.

In what should be great news for those in this particular situation, the IRS has stated that they won’t have to pay the money back.

According to the agency’s guidance, there is “no provision in the law that would require individuals who qualify for a payment based on their 2018 or 2019 tax returns, to pay back all or part of the payment, if based on the information reported on their 2020 tax returns, they no longer qualify for that amount.”

For whatever the reason, recipients of these checks can return the funds if they choose to do so. All they have to do is write “void” in the endorsement section on the back of the check and then mail it to an appropriate IRS location.

If one decides on this route, they should make sure to write a brief explanation stating the reason for returning the check. Then they would have to contact the agency to see if they can receive a new check with the correct amount.

As for those who got much less than what they were expecting, know that they can also take necessary action to get their hands on the difference.  

“If you didn’t get any payments or got less than the full amounts, you may qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit and must file a 2020 tax return to claim the credit even if you don’t normally file,” the IRS website states.

More recently, some individuals reportedly have received a confirmation letter (Notice 1444 or Notice 1444-B) from the IRS stating that their payment was issued even though they have yet to receive it. In this situation, the impacted individuals can request an IRS payment trace.

The same holds true if the “Get My Payment” tool at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment shows that the stimulus funds have been transferred but there is no change in the recipient’s bank account.

For married folks out there, be aware that the agency has acknowledged that some couples are receiving their stimulus checks in two separate payments. The main reason is apparently due to a glitch in the system that divides the payments for married couples in which one individual has filed an injured spousal claim.

The IRS has assured those impacted that the second half of the payment may arrive in the same week or within weeks of the first payment, adding that these couples can check the current status of their payments using the IRS “Get My Payment” tool.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.