The Northern District of California granted summary judgment in the case that challenged the IRS’s policy of excluding inmates from receiving $1,200 stimulus checks.
The IRS and Treasury Department cannot withhold stimulus checks solely based on an individual’s incarceration status. Over two million incarcerated individuals in the U.S. may now be eligible for an economic impact payment.
The district court finds the IRS’s policy of withholding stimulus payments “arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law.” The IRS was not authorized to withhold payment from incarcerated individuals solely because they are or were incarcerated and the Treasury Department has 30 days from the initial ruling to reconsider stimulus payments for individuals.
The speed of the district court’s ruling means that up to two million incarcerated individuals in the United States have a chance to receive their rightful stimulus checks this year.
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