Do Dead People Need Stimulation? IRS says “Yes”

The following entry is from Paul Caron’s (Associate Dean of Faculty, Charles Hartsock Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law) Tax Prof Blog:

I [Prof. Caron] received a $600 economic stimulus check this week as the executor of my deceased father’s estate.  The IRS’s Economic Stimulus Payments Information Center indicates that is the normal practice:

• Q. If an individual dies, what happens to his or her direct deposit or stimulus check?
• A. Stimulus payments will be issued in the name of the individual eligible for payment on a filed 2007 income tax return or to the account designated by the individual on that return. This includes situations where a person dies after filing a return or where the final 2007 income tax return was filed by a personal representative or surviving spouse. Any issues or concerns involving a decedent’s filed return or the related stimulus payment should be addressed by the legal representative of the decedent’s estate.

As Prof. Caron queries, “What is the purpose for making economic stimulus payments to dead people?”  Maybe the IRS believes that you really can “take it with you.”