Can I apply for a stimulus check for my deceased mother

[rjs]

No, you cannot. A deceased person is not eligible for a stimulus payment.

[Opus 17]

If your mother died in 2020 and you (or her personal representative) are required to file a 2020 tax return for any 2020 income from before she died, that might include a stimulus payment.

The IRS has ruled that deceased persons are not eligible, but the legal basis for this and the timing are unclear to me.  For example, the CARES act was passed on March 27, my mother passed away on April 7.  What is the legal basis for saying she does not qualify?  I've never seen that explained.  Suppose the payment to my parents had been made electronically on April 6 instead of May 6, what is the legal distinction in the CARES act (separate from the IRS interpretation of the CARES act).

In any case, you can't "apply" now.  We don't really know what will happen on the 2020 tax return.  

[fanfare]

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[Anonymous]

My mother passed in Feb 2020 and she received a direct deposit of $1200 in May. I sent a $1200 check back and the IRS cashed it. 

I've started working on my 2020 taxes and Turbotax wants to give it back to her. It askes if she received an EIP 1 and EIP 2. I answered No to both questions, so it adds $1200 and $600 to her refund.  The $600 is correct because she is eligible for the second one according to the new law (even though it makes absolutely no sense).  I am not going to answer Yes to the EIP 1 because it was sent back.  Like you said, the first EIP was not clear on eligibility for the deceased and I'm not sure what to do here.

[DianeW777]

Your deceased mother is entitled to the stimulus check and here is the information from the Form 1040 Instructions, page 57 (printed below for your convenience).

Generally, you are eligible to claim the recovery rebate credit if in 2020 you were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien, weren't a dependent of another taxpayer, and have a valid social security number. This includes someone who died in 2020, if you are preparing a return for that person. Use the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet to figure the credit, if any, you can claim. For more information on the recovery rebate credit click the hyperlink.

You can be confident to enter the correct information in TurboTax Online exactly the way you are doing it because you sent the first check back. Be sure to keep a receipt of the cancelled check for your records should you need proof of repayment.

[Opus 17]

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@DianeW777 wrote:

Your deceased mother is entitled to the stimulus check and here is the information from the Form 1040 Instructions, page 57 (printed below for your convenience).

Generally, you are eligible to claim the recovery rebate credit if in 2020 you were a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien, weren't a dependent of another taxpayer, and have a valid social security number. This includes someone who died in 2020, if you are preparing a return for that person. Use the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet to figure the credit, if any, you can claim. For more information on the recovery rebate credit click the hyperlink.

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Then why did the IRS ask for the money back?

[smithmc]

I have this same situation except received a paper check after my MIL's death.  We did not send it back but did not cash it. The Turbo Tax calculation for 2020 provides her the refundable credit for both if I say she received neither.  I have read that the IRS canceled the checks for deceased taxpayers, though the check indicates it is good for a year.  If I try to deposit it now, indicate the payment was received and forgo the credit, I can envision later the check will be charged back. Or, if I just take the credit and ignore the check, I'm not confident that at some time in the distant future, the IRS will discover that she received a check, and eliminate the credit (long past the one year date on the check).  Her 2019 return was filed before she passed away, in Feb 2020, and we are still awaiting her 2019 tax refund.  Any advice?

[Opus 17]

@smithmc 

if you follow the IRS instructions to the letter, then you would return the uncashed check but you would also claim of the rebate on her final tax return, if a tax return is filed in her name for 2020.  This seems to me to be rather pointless, and also likely to cause much confusion, because if the IRS has recorded that she received a stimulus check, they will disallow the rebate credit on the tax return.

I would simply deposit the check, although it may have to be deposited in an account for her estate and then moved from her estate account into an account for her beneficiary or spouse if she was married. This will depend on state law.  If you can successfully deposit the check, then I would not claim the rebate on her final tax return.  I don’t see that this would create any liability in the future, because even though the IRS requested that checks be returned for deceased taxpayers, it is also absolutely clear that under the law, she is entitled to the rebate.  At the worst, if the IRS ever did demand a return of the stimulus check, you could pay the IRS and then turn around and file an amended tax return to claim the rebate, and I hope that anyone at the IRS would agree that this is a pointless exercise.

[smithmc]

Thanks..I agree.