The IRS doled out more than $24 billion in potentially bogus refunds claimed under several controversial tax credits in 2016, according to a new audit that said $118 million was even paid to people who weren’t authorized to work in the U.S. in the first place, The Washington Times reported yesterday. Some $16.8 billion in payments were made on improper claims under the Earned Income Tax Credit, signifying a 24 percent error rate. Investigators also estimated $7.2 billion in improper payments for the Additional Child Tax Credit, representing 25 percent of the total, and $1.1 billion in improper payments, or 24 percent, for a higher education tax credit. The totals and error rates for the earned income and child credits were comparable for 2015, while the education tax credit saw improvement. One particular problem the IRS faces is checking people who have Social Security numbers but who aren’t authorized to work in the U.S.
