GAO report: Millions may miss out on virus relief payments

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog reported Monday that millions of Americans are in danger of missing coronavirus relief payments of up to $1,200 per individual because of incomplete government records.

The Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing arm, said that possibly 8.7 million or more individuals who are eligible for the economic impact payments have yet to receive those payments because of inadequate IRS and Treasury Department records.

That was one of a number of findings in the latest GAO report on the handling of the $2.6 trillion in support passed by Congress last spring to cushion the impact from a sharp recession triggered by the global pandemic.

GAO said that the IRS did implement several recommendations the GAO had made in a June report to make sure those eligible for the payments received them such as extending the deadline for individuals who had not filed an income tax return to apply for the payments by Sept. 30.

But GAO said that Treasury and the IRS have still failed to update information on how many eligible recipients have yet to receive funds.

In April, the report said, Treasury estimated that 30 million individuals — including 16 million on Social Security and railroad pensions and 14 million who do not normally file tax returns — had not received their payments. The IRS then reported that as of July 31, 5.3 million individuals had used an online IRS tool for non-filers to help them receive payments.

Those figures would mean that there could be 8.7 million or more individuals who are eligible for the payments but who have not received them.

The report said that Treasury officials did not state their agreement or disagreement with GAO recommendations to improve the eligibility lists. But the agency told GAO it was working on an effort to notify around 9 million individuals that they may be eligible for the payments.

Responding to the report, the IRS said the effort also includes encouraging eligible people who don't normally file tax returns to register using the online tool at IRS.gov as soon as possible before the Oct. 15 deadline.

The economic impact payments were made by the

IRS using direct deposit, paper checks and debit cards.

All adults earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income annually were entitled to $1,200. That amount steadily declined for those earning more and was phased out entirely for people earning over $99,000. Up to $500 per qualifying child also was paid.

In addition, an earlier GAO report found that coronavirus relief payments totaling some $1.6 billion went to dead people.