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Comment by crazygringo | Hacker News Reader

I can't find any mention in the article that this will obviously be corrected next year.

Because the $1,200 checks are just an advance refund on your 2020 tax return (to file in 2021).

If you get and cash a stimulus check you don't deserve, you'll need to pay it back on your return next year.

Just like if you didn't get a stimulus check you deserved because of IRS mixup (like me), you'll just get it as an additional refund on your return next year.

Considering the speed these checks got sent out, there were bound to be errors. It's not ideal, but it's not a huge problem because everything will be properly sorted out on the actual tax returns.

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Some people in the article either have no ties to the US at all or have renounced US citizenship, so it _will not_ be corrected next year as they don't file tax returns.

Regardless, this is chump change to the US government, and there are other larger lost amounts of money they should probably worry about anyway.

The two people mentioned in the article still have ties to the US because they receive social security payments.

The unmentioned reality is that tying these payments to SS payouts helped millions of people - the ones who are least able to navigate complex government systems.

If you owe money to the IRS, you need to file a tax return whether you're a US citizen or not.

Now you might say, well what is the US gonna do if you don't?

Well, the people mentioned in the article receive Social Security (so "no ties to the US at all" is false), and you can 100% expect their SS checks to be garnished to cover debt to the IRS, as this happens all the time with unpaid back taxes.

So it's not going to be any free money at the end of the day.

The whole process would obviously take a few years, but literally all the systems are already in place for it. Nothing special even needs to be done. It'll just happen.

> Just like if you didn't get a stimulus check you deserved because of IRS mixup (like me), you'll just get it as an additional refund on your return next year.

Can you elaborate on this? After months of waiting and calling the IRS with nothing to show for it, I just assumed that I would never see any of that money.

If you didn't receive the check, there will be a section on your 2020 1040 tax form for "Recovery Rebate Credit" which seems to be the catch-all for anyone who missed the deadlines or didn't get their full amount for whatever reason.

I'm an American overseas who pays his taxes, has intent to return, yada yada and never received my check, and never got the online portal to recognize me, so I'm hoping this will work.

Source: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payment-informa...

Yeah, calling the IRS about this is beyond useless. Eventually they give you the way to contact someone who they claim will be able to verify your perceived eligibility in their eyes, but every time I've done that (after hours on hold) the call disconnects for some reason or their system goes down or ...

At this rate, it will be faster to file my return ASAP than to try to get my stimulus check.

> If you get and cash a stimulus check you don't deserve, you'll need to pay it back on your return next year.

Not if you're not American and overseas?

I mean, if some random country sends me free money I don't think I have any obligation to return it, and I don't think the US is particularly special.

As these payments were tied to ongoing SS payouts, I'd expect those payouts to be garnished.

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