IRS says its own error sent $1,200 stimulus checks to non-Americans overseas

The IRS now acknowledges that its own error caused some citizens of other countries to mistakenly receive $1,200 coronavirus relief payments — and that the mistake is likely to happen again if more stimulus money goes out.

• By Sacha Pfeiffer/NPR

(Washington) — The IRS now acknowledges that its own error caused some citizens of other countries to mistakenly receive $1,200 coronavirus relief payments — and that the mistake is likely to happen again if more stimulus money goes out.

When reports of the mistake first surfaced, the U.S government placed the blame on those non-Americans, saying that many noncitizens erroneously received stimulus checks because they had filed incorrect tax returns that made them appear to be American.

But many non-Americans who received stimulus money do not file U.S. tax returns. One of them is Susanne Wigforss, a 78-year-old Swedish citizen who lives in Stockholm.

Wigforss was surprised in July to get a $1,200 check in the mail from the U.S. Treasury. It was followed by a letter from the White House signed by President Trump, addressed to “My Fellow American” and informing her that “your economic impact payment has arrived.”

“I thought, ‘I can’t believe it,’ ” Wigforss recalled. “They’re sending it to me. Why? I mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it?”

Only U.S. citizens and U.S. “resident aliens” are eligible for stimulus money — “resident alien” is a federal tax classification, and to qualify an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time — and Wigforss is neither.

Asked about this by NPR, the IRS acknowledged it mistakenly sent checks to some noncitizens who receive Social Security and other federal benefits — such as Wigforss, who receives a small Social Security payment from having worked in California for several years.

“This is so wrong,” Wigforss said, “because I saw that a number of people were being evicted every month in Chicago, for instance, and I thought one of those families would have needed this stimulus check. Why should a Swedish citizen living abroad receive $1,200?”

“There’s no way I’m going to cash this money — it doesn’t belong to me,” she added. “But how much money is bleeding out from the Treasury Department because of these [misdirected] stimulus checks, I wonder?”

The U.S. government cannot answer that question. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration did find that, as of late May, $34 million in stimulus money had gone to people who filed a tax return with a foreign address.

But that includes eligible people, such as U.S. citizens living abroad, and does not include ineligible foreign citizens who received a check at a U.S. address. For example, NPR interviewed a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was not eligible yet received a $1,200 economic impact payment at his former address in Massachusetts. That $34 million also does not include people, such as Wigforss, who received a check but did not file a U.S. tax return.

“That was the weirdest thing ever,” he recalled. “I checked the mail and I pulled out a check. It had a Federal Reserve/Treasury thingamajig on it with the eagle and all that. It’s made out to me. I thought: ‘What’s it from — America? What the hell’s going on here? Why am I getting a check from the government?’ ”

Shockley suspects he mistakenly got a check because he receives Social Security from having worked in the U.S. before moving overseas.

“At first, I thought it was a joke,” he said, “and then I went down to the bank and I said, ‘Do you have some way of verifying that this is legal?’ And the girl came back after five minutes and said, ‘It’s legal. You got the money.’ ”

“I didn’t ask for the money. I didn’t expect any money,” Shockley added. “But as soon as I got it, I stuck it in the bank. You ain’t getting it back!”

He attributes the mistake to U.S. government incompetence.

“Oh, complete stupidity. They’re just not doing their job properly,” Shockley said. “But I’m not complaining totally because I was happy with the money!”