Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), the federal government approved emergency relief in response to the economic hardship due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In addition, the IRS has been withholding stimulus funds from parents who have not complied with their child support obligations in states that reported this data to the Treasury Department.
Unfortunately, this also negatively impacted parents who were not responsible for paying child support, but who had a spouse who owed child support. It is estimated that approximately 50,000 people were impacted by this problem.
To help fix this problem, the IRS will send “catch-up” Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to people who had their stimulus payment diverted to pay their spouse’s past-due child support. These catch-up payments will be automatically mailed to any eligible person who completed a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, with their 2019 federal income tax return. These funds are expected to be sent this month. In the event a spouse did not complete the Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation, the IRS plans to automatically issue these payments at a later unknown date.
Have questions about child support or another family law matter in Colorado? Call The Harris Law Firm to speak with an attorney.