U.S. Rep. Terri A. Sewell, AL-07, celebrated Wednesday as the Recovery of Stolen Checks Act passed unanimously in the House Ways and Means Committee. The bipartisan bill, led by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, NY-11, and co-led by Reps. Sewell and David Kustoff, TN-08, would allow taxpayers who have had their tax refunds lost or stolen in the mail to receive a replacement check via direct deposit, something IRS policies and procedures have historically prevented.
“I’ve heard from a number of constituents who have struggled to receive their tax returns after they were lost or stolen, simply because of outdated IRS policy,” said Rep. Sewell. “That’s why I’m excited that the Ways and Means Committee has unanimously passed our bipartisan legislation to allow my constituents to receive their replacement returns via direct deposit. This is a commonsense bill that will help numerous Alabamians receive the money they are rightly owed.”
In the event that a tax return is lost or stolen in the mail, current IRS policies and procedures only allow for a replacement check to be issued via mail, not direct deposit. As a result, numerous taxpayers have had their returns lost or stolen repeatedly, without any remedy.
It is estimated that 40,000 IRS checks alone were stolen nationally in 2024—up from just 100 in 2022.
Bill text is available here.
