Evidently there was a math error made by the IRS, resulting in millions of Americans accidentally receiving stimulus checks they should not have. Now, they need to pay the money back.
The IRS recently sent letters to Americans that owe the stimulus checks back, and ailed 9 million altogether between the months of January and July.
The letters went to individuals who claimed the recovery rebate on their 2020 tax returns. The rebate was for people who didn’t get the stimulus checks initially, to claim them on their return. They received the money with their refund.
Now the IRS is going through these returns and issuing more 6470 letters than they ever have before. The letter signifies a math error was made and taxpayers may owe money.
Out of the 9 million letters sent, over 7 million were about stimulus checks.
The IRS stated that legislation forced them to send out payments for the pandemic immediately without checking them, a process that would normally take weeks. This resulted in many errors.
People who don’t respond within 60 days finalize whatever it is they owe, allowing the IRS to start collections. The letters also fail to inform taxpayers of calculations or any other vital information used to come to the concluding amount. Not only is that missing, but information about the 60 days to respond is missing on at least 5 million letters.
Many have attempted to call the IRS to discuss the issue, but during 2021 167 million calls were made and only 9% were answered.
Related: Here’s why it will take even longer for the IRS to process backlogged, delayed tax returns and refunds
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