IR-2020-192, August 25, 2020

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service will soon send catch-up Economic Impact Payment checks to about 50,000 individuals whose portion of the EIP was diverted to pay their spouse's past-due child support.

These catch-up payments are due to be issued in early-to-mid-September. They will be mailed as checks to any eligible spouse who submitted Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, along with their 2019 federal income tax return, or in some cases, their 2018 return. These spouses do not need to take any action to get their money. The IRS will automatically issue the portion of the EIP that was applied to the other spouse's debt.

The IRS is aware that some individuals did not file a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, and did not receive their portion of the EIP for the same reason above. These individuals also do not need to take any action and do not need to submit a Form 8379. 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.

Affected taxpayers can check the status of their Payment by using the Get My Payment tool, available only on IRS.gov.

For more information, see the Receiving My Payment section of the Frequently Asked Questions in the Economic Payment Information Center on IRS.gov.

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