NY Rebate Checks Almost Went to More Than 2,000 Dead People

New York was able to block more than 2,000 rebate checks addressed to deceased homeowners from hitting mailboxes. 

The New York Comptroller's Office, according to an audit, stated that the state was able to block 2.052 rebate checks that were addressed to deceased homeowners from being mailed out. the checks totaled more than $818,000.

Overall, there were close to 32,000 questionable checks identified and returned to the Department totaling almost $8 million, avoiding them from being mailed out.

The rebate checks in question are part of the "Tax Freeze" checks that were mailed out in 2015. Nearly 2.1 million checks totaling more than $600 million were mailed out.

In addition to the payments noted, the tax department worked with the Department to identify an additional 12,786 PTF Credit payments totaling $2.55 million that were incorrect due to improper data formatting.

The audit listed the following recommendations to avoid incidents similar to this in the future:

1. Ensure PTF Credit payment amounts are correct prior to submitting those payments for approval
2. Continue working with the local assessor offices to ensure data provided is standardized, complete, and accurate
3. For the 2016 tax year, use relevant Department data to ensure only eligible taxpayers receive the PTF credit