Stimulus checks: Nearly 9 million at risk of not getting first $1,200 stimulus check, report says

Nearly 9 million U.S. citizens could lose the $1,200 stimulus check OK’d last spring because of incomplete IRS and Treasury Department records, the Government Accountability Office said in a report.

According to the 371-page GAO report, there was no data available for 14 million people eligible for the stimulus payment. These people do not normally file tax returns, or do not collect Social Security payments or other federal benefits.

In July, the Treasury Department extended the deadline through the end of September to apply for the $1,200 payments that were approved in March and began to go out in April.

Of the 14 million people eligible for the payment but who have not received it, 5.3 million used the internal revenue payment finding tool to register to get the money. The remaining 8.7 million have not gotten a payment nor have they registered for one.

Those people have until the end of September to register.

The GAO reported that as of Monday, both the Treasury Department and the IRS had failed to update the number of people who are eligible for payments but have not yet received them.

“Without an updated estimate, the Treasury, the IRS, other federal agencies and IRS' outreach partners are limited in their ability to appropriately scale and target outreach and communication efforts to individuals who may be eligible for a payment,” the report states.

Cox Media Group