Millions may miss out on payments

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog says 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 in a report Monday 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 unprecedented $2.6 trillion in support passed by Congress last spring to cushion the impact from a sharp recession triggered by the global pandemic.

The GAO also called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do a better job in providing guidance to local schools on when they can safely reopen schools.

The watchdog called the CDC’S guidance inconsistent and said updated guidance should be “cogent, clear and internally consistent.”

On the relief payments, the GAO said 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 through Sept. 30.

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

The lack of “such information could hinder outreach efforts and place potentially millions of individuals at risk of missing their payment,” the GAO said.

Treasury officials told the GAO it was working on an effort to notify around 9 million individuals that they may be eligible for the payments.

All adults earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income annually were entitled to $1,200.