The Internal Revenue Service had sent emails to millions of taxpayers stating that they should refund their stimulus check.
Earlier this year, taxpayers who reportedly claimed their Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 tax returns have received an email from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The email, marked as a ‘final notice,’ informed recipients that some of their stimulus checks should be returned. It also states that refunds had been reduced due to an overpayment.
The email was illegible and lacked any reference to the taxpayers’ legal rights resulting in many individuals dismissing the notice for a stimulus refund as a scam or a fraudulent email. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) has confirmed months later that the IRS had sent the email due to a ‘math error.’
According to the IRS spokesperson, the pandemic caused a rapid movement of payments, resulting in an entire process adjustment. Tax credits were distributed instantly, whereas it usually takes weeks or even months to process before being distributed.
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The Internal Revenue Service sent a notice informing taxpayers to return stimulus check (Photo: ThinkAdvisor)
IRS Are Correcting The Errors
The IRS is apparently correcting more returns and issuing more notices of math errors this year than in previous years, according to Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). Additionally, TAS stated that in 2020, 628,997 math error corrections were provided to taxpayers’ returns from January 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020. This year, the IRS had to correct millions of math errors, with about 7.4 million related to the first stimulus check.
The IRS continues to send a Letter 6470 that provides additional information on the taxpayers’ right to appeal any change to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount on their 2020 tax return. The IRS explained that the change might be due to a calculation or eligibility error. They have also sent notices that help taxpayers understand the three notices they sent this year (CP11, 12, 13).
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