My father in law received his stimulus check He passed away in Feb 2020 Can check be used by family?

[Opus 17]

The money would be part of his estate, and would go to his heirs. The procedure for this will depend on whether he had a Will and the laws of the state he lived in.  It will not have to be returned.

technically, the stimulus payment is in advance on a new credit that will be part of the 2020 tax return. The IRS is issuing payments now using 2018 and 2019 information to get them out faster. The credit will be recalculated on the 2020 tax return. If a larger credit is due some taxpayers at that time, it will be added to their refund. If a smaller or no credit is due, taxpayers will not have to pay it back.

If your father-in-law had taxable income during 2020 before he passed, someone will still need to file a final return for him. If any taxes are owed next year, it will be the responsibility of the executor of his estate to see the taxes paid before his remaining assets are distributed to his heirs.  So bear this in mind. 

[fanfare]

the executor or Administrator can deposit the check into his estate bank account.

[macuser_22]

The government is asking that payments to deceased taxpayers be returned.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/stimulus-checks-sent-to-dead-relatives-should-be-returned-mnuchin-says-...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/29/steve-mnuchin-wants-stimulus-given-dead-peop...

[Opus 17]

As of when though?  I can see if the taxpayer died prior to 2020, but what about taxpayers who die during 2020?  What in the law establishing the credit would bar the credit, especially as they still file a tax return.  

[macuser_22]

Just saying what has been on the news - ...have not seen any official IRS position on this yet, but I would not be too quick to spend the money.

[VolvoGirl]

I just saw that on the news.  They said to keep it and not spend or cash it.  But wait for further instructions on the IRS website.  It's a big problem and the IRS hasn't said what to do yet.

[Just_The_Facts]

I have a similar issue in that my wife passed away in January, 2020.  In review of the IRS rules, if the taxpayer passed away prior to the stimulus check being issued, the check needs to be returned.  In my instance, no check was received.  However, in a quick pass in preparing my 2020 tax return, TurboTax has erroneously given me credit for BOTH my wife and I and I have no ability to correct the amount of credit to $1,200.  TurboTax needs to amend their software to permit an "override" of this default credit of $2,400 to $1,200.

[Critter-3]

In the MyInfo tab you need to indicate that you're filing a joint return with a decedent and enter her date of death. Then later in the program under the review tab you will have the option of putting in how much of the stimulus money you got. Since she passed away the program should not give you her portion of the stimulus however if it does then you'll have to wait until the program is updated which may not happen until later next month.

[Just_The_Facts]

To Critter-3:

Thank you for your response.  MyInfo does note that my wife is deceased and her date of death.  However, either TurboTax does not pay attention that my wife is deceased, or it is unaware that a deceased taxpayer is not eligible for the COVID stimulus credit.  Hopefully TurboTax will fix this COVID Stimulus credit glitch in their software.

[Critter-3]

The program is not up to date yet ... time will tell. But in the end you may have to "lie" to the program and say she also got the $1200 so the program doesn't try to give it on the return incorrectly.  

[NCperson]

sorry for your loss

this issue works differently for the two stimulus payments.

For the first payment, if the person died prior to receipt of the stimulus, then the estate is to return the payment to the IRS- as you state, there is no eligibility 

for the 2nd payment, anyone who died after 1/1/2020 can keep the payment.  this is a specific part of the legislation to eliminate the confusion that occurred over of the first payment.  @Critter-3 - how does one let the moderator know about this bug? maybe TT doesn't know about this issue?????? 

this is the FAQ related to the 1st payment: 

Q A5. Does someone who died qualify for the payment? Why did the IRS send payments to deceased indiv...

A5. No, a payment made to someone who died before receiving the payment should be returned to the IRS by following the instructions in Topic I: Returning the Economic Impact Payment.

Joint filers with a deceased spouse: For payments made to joint filers with a deceased spouse who died before receiving the payment, return the decedent’s portion of the payment. This amount will be $1,200 unless your adjusted gross income exceeded $150,000.

If you can’t cash or deposit the check: If you cannot cash or deposit the payment because it was issued to you and a deceased spouse, return the check as described in Topic I: Returning the Economic Impact Payment. After the IRS receives and processes your returned payment, an Economic Impact Payment will be reissued to you.

• The IRS is aware that some surviving spouses weren’t issued their portion of the payment. We’re in the process of correcting this issue to send these payments as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. You can check the status of your payment using the Get My Payment tool. Eligible individuals who don’t receive a payment this year may be eligible to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2020 tax return.

The Bureau of the Fiscal Services (BFS) has cancelled outstanding Economic Impact Payment (EIP) checks issued to recipients who may not be eligible, including those who may be deceased. Recipients should still return these checks as described in Topic I: Returning the Economic Impact Payment instructions.  

[Critter-3]

@NCperson

If you are not a member of the lounge alternative I will  IM a moderator and mention this thread ... Happy Holidays !!!  

[NCperson]

I am not - can you please IM the Lounge? they have the rest of the form working and I wonder if this aspect was overlooked (glad I am not a programmer at TT for the next 30 days!)