MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s been less than two weeks since President Trump approved a second wave of stimulus checks, sending $600 dollars of recovery money to more than 80 percent of U.S. citizens.
But what happens when a stimulus check gets sent to the wrong place?
WREG’s Peter Fleischer found someone else’s stimulus check in his mailbox this week, something that didn’t happen when the first wave of payments were sent out last spring.
After a bit of research, he was able to track down the man, who lived at the same address years ago. It’s still not clear how it happened — especially since the old tenant now lives in China.
“Oh no! Well how cool is that?” he said when reached by phone. “They usually just do direct deposit.”
While Peter was able to track down this check’s rightful owner, it’s not so easy for others.
The IRS has established certain “tracing” dates for when you should be on the lookout for your money. If five days go by after it was supposed to be deposited, or four weeks go by after it was supposed to be delivered by mail, recepients can contact the IRS to trace their stimulus payment.
And if you receive someone else’s check, but can’t track them down, the IRS asks that you void the improper check, and send it back to the nearest IRS location.
Helpful Links
IRS website for payment tracing: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payment-information-center-topic-f-payment-issued-but-lost-stolen-destroyed-or-not-received
Link for the nearest IRS locations, in case you receive someone else’s stimulus check: https://apps.irs.gov/app/officeLocator/index.jsp
