‘Catch-up’ stimulus checks to be sent out soon, IRS says. Here’s who will get them

The Internal Revenue Service says it will soon send “catch-up” stimulus checks to about 50,000 people.

The checks will go to those whose original stimulus payments — which were part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act — wrongly went toward paying their spouse’s past-due child support, the IRS said Tuesday in a news release.

Spouses who submitted an Injured Spouse Allocation form with their 2019 or, in some cases, 2018 tax returns will be mailed the payments.

Those who submitted the forms were supposed to separately receive half of the total stimulus payment that was sent jointly to married couples, the IRS says. Only the spouse owing child support was supposed to have their half of the payment offset.

The “catch-up” checks are set to be sent out in early or mid September, the IRS says.

“These spouses do not need to take any action to get their money,” it says. “The IRS will automatically issue the portion of the (Economic Impact Payment) that was applied to the other spouse’s debt.”

Additionally, those who did not file an Injured Spouse Allocation form but did not receive their portion of the payment for the “same reason” don’t need to do anything.

“The IRS does not yet have a timeframe but will automatically issue the portion of the EIP that was applied to the other spouse’s debt at a later date,” the release says.

Those affected can use the IRS’s Get My Payment tool to check the status of their payment.

The “catch-up” checks come as a second round of stimulus payments is in limbo.

Lawmakers have been unable to reach a compromise on a second coronavirus relief package that would reportedly include another round of $1,200 payments, McClatchy News previously reported.