The IRS doesn’t have discretion under the law to issue new, separate virus relief payments to survivors of domestic violence, the agency’s leader said.
Legal aid clinics and advocacy groups across the country have reported instances where survivors have had their economic impact payments stolen or withheld by their abusers because a joint tax return was filed, sometimes without the survivor’s consent or knowledge. The payments—worth up to $1,200 per individual or $2,400 per married couple, plus an extra $500 for each dependent child under the age of 17—were part of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136).