US Judge: IRS Can’t Keep Coronavirus Money From Inmates | Idaho News

By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A U.S. judge says the IRS can’t keep withholding coronavirus relief payments from incarcerated people, potentially clearing the way for at least 80,000 checks totaling more than $100 million to be sent to people behind bars across the United States.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton late last month gives the IRS until Oct. 24 to reconsider the payments for those who were denied or had their money intercepted solely because of their incarceration. But for those behind bars who didn’t file a tax return in 2018 or 2019, another deadline is looming — they have until Oct. 15 to send a written application for the relief checks, or they may not receive them at all.
The federal agencies have filed a “protective appeal” to the 9th U.S. Circuit — which appears to be a placeholder of sorts