Stimulus check and unemployment

Question

Can unemployment take away your stimulus check if you owe them money

Answer 1

The short answer is no. Under the CARES act, state and federal agencies are barred from garnishing the stimulus checks except if your state has reported you as delinquent on child support payments. Otherwise, banks and other private lending institutions are not bound by the ban on garnishment although several have pledged to no collect debts from these stimulus payments. Lastly, private collection agencies can also pursue recovery from the stimulus check payouts.

The legislation did not clarify or outright ban private debt collection, though a number of states are rushing to or already have added restrictions on debt collecting from the stimulus money.