Tax refund? Tax stimulus rebate? How to get both of them faster

This tax season, many of us can look forward not only to a tax refund, but also to a one-time tax rebate, ranging from $300 to $1,200, plus $300 for every child.

To get that rebate, you must file a 2007 federal tax return.  And if you want that new rebate faster, you should file your 2007 taxes electronically and arrange for direct deposit of your tax refund. Doing so will automatically will also ensure direct deposit of your rebate. The IRS asserts this route is faster and more secure than snail mail.

How long can you expect to wait for your refund if you do it all electronically? As little as 10 days from the time the IRS confirms it got your return. And your rebate? The IRS says the earliest rebates will be distributed in early May.

Though the IRS hasn't said so, it stands to reason that early filers would get their rebates early as well. Conversely, it's a sure bet that if you file for an extension, you'll have to wait beyond that time for your rebate. That's because the IRS must have your 2007 return before it can determine the size of your rebate.

Other rebate facts:

•You must have at least $3,000 in income to get the rebate. At $75,000 in adjusted gross income for individuals and $150,000 for couples filing jointly, the rebate begins to phase out.

•If you're eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax form, you're ineligible for the rebate. For example, college students who earned more than $3,000 can't get the rebate simply by asking their parents to forego claiming them as dependents.

•A number of folks who normally wouldn't file an income tax form, including certain veterans,  Social-Security recipients, and recipients of Railroad Retirement benefits, may be eligible for the rebate. But they MUST file a 2007 return in order to get it.

•If you've filed a 2007 return already but haven't included the benefits mentioned above--which might qualify you for a rebate--you can file an amended return, Form 1040X, available at  www.irs.gov.

•Beware of e-mail and phone messages on the rebate that purport to be from the IRS. They are most certainly are scams.

Comments

[Cindy]

We filed married Joint. My husbands employment Company sold. And the 401 had to be switched over, which left us with a Loan Default, which we had to add as income. Putting us over the 150,000.00 income bracket. We had to pay a large sum to the IRS to make up for the loan default. Why wouldnt the IRS go on income we actually occured during the year, rather then income we actully recieved that year plus income we actually recieved in prior years? The defaulted Loan was not taken out this year. I see where we'd have to pay taxes on the defaulted loan, but I don't see where is should've effected the Stimulous Payment. They should go by actually Earned Income.

Our income wasn't over 150,000.00 for the year if the Loan default was not added as income...Example say My husband actually earned 90,000.00 out of that 90,000.00 we had to pay 10,000.00 to IRS for default on the loan. Wouldnt you think we should at least qualify for the 1200.00 a small amount compared to what we payed the IRS. And that they should consider that the loan was taken out several years ago. I agree to paying the penalty for the defaulted loan, Put shouldn't that be enough of a penalty?

[Anna Dangol]

hi i'm 21, full time student and NOT at all claimed as Dependent... and this guy who filed my tax put 0$ tax return. and when i asked him why am i not getting any money back he said i have to be 25 to get tax return. is it true??? does age really matters??? but i'mnot claimed by my parents as dependents??? and i made more than 6000...can anyone help me...am i getting my tax return or not??? if not then WHY??

[Tobie Stanger (Consumer Reports)]

Anna,

Unfortunately, the law that authorizes the stimulus payments excludes from eligibility people who could be claimed as dependents, even if they actually are not claimed. Full-time students under age 24 (not 25)are considered "qualifying children" by the IRS, and could be claimed as their parents' dependents. They are therefore ineligible for the stimulus payment.

The IRS makes an exception if you are married, but even then there are some cases that still make you ineligible, according to one source I consulted. Amazing but true.

[spoiled]

I get ssi. Single mom of 2. My ex claimed me on his taxes for 2 years now. He never supported me. I never lived in his mom. So he is getting the stimulus somehow off of me. And his mom wants to give me 300 of it. cause he said it was the right thing to do. They don't know that I reported them cause of it. So what do I do when they try to give me $?

[SYLVIA]

MY QUESTION IS MY DAUGHTER TURNED 18 ON JAN OF 08 BUT I CLAIM HER BECAUSE SHE IS STILL A FULL TIME STUDENT WILL I GET ANYTHING FOR HER?

[Tobie Stanger (Consumer Reports)]

No, your child has to be under 17 in order for you to receive the child stimulus payment.

[susan]

My husband and I filed our 2007 taxes as a joint couple, with a child (gross <40,000$). We moved states in April 2008. Do we qualify? Also, how do I ensure the check gets to the correct address? Besides the change of address form, is there a toll free number to call and update and see if the check has already been sent to the old address?

Thanks for your time and comments!

[Tobie Stanger (Consumer Reports)]

Assuming you and/your husband aren't liable for back taxes, child support, student loan debt or other items that would reduce your stimulus payment, you are eligible. (Your child has to be under 17 to make you eligible for the $300-per-child portion of the stimulus payment.)

The URL below will take you to the IRS's Stimulus Payment site, which includes an interactive that has helped some people--but not all--determine when their check was coming.

http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=180250,00.html

However, if you moved and did not file a Postal Service change-of-address form in time, it may well be that your stimulus payment was mailed to your old address. Ideally, you also should have filled out an IRS change-of-address form. You can learn about it by going to this URL:

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc157.html

You also can call the IRS at (800) 829-1040. Don't press 7 for the rebate information; it's just recorded material. Press 1 and then 3 and wait for a human.

Good luck!

[Ryan]

I have been doing a lot of reading about what would be considered a dependant. I am 19 years old, I live on one side of the country, my parents live on the other. I support myself, but I was a full time student for half that year of 2007. Some people are saying to be a dependent you have to be related, live with them for at least 1/2 the year, they have to support you, and yo have to be under 24 and in school. Yet, there are some people saying that being a full time student alone qualifies you as a dependent. My question is this, do you have to meet all four requirements, or do you just have to be a full time student? I am under the impression that I wouldn't qualify as a dependent since I only meet 1/4 of the requirements, but I would like to be sure.

[tobie Stanger (Consumer Reports)]

Ryan,

I would call the IRS at (800) 829-1040. My gut impression is that you don't have to meet all 4 requirements to be considered eligible as someone's dependent. Even if your parents don't claim you, the fact that they COULD claim you, based on these criteria, makes you ineligible to claim the rebate for yourself. But you should check with the IRS to be sure.

[Sonja]

I received my stimulus payment, however, it is incorrect, as my husband and I filed jointly and had one qualifying child. However, there was a mistake on our tax form...our daughter's SSN was off by one number, a typo. That has since been corrected and the IRS told me we'd receive the rest of our refund shortly.

In the meantime, our economic stimulus came with a letter showing nothing was paid for our qualifying child. I have tried to get an answer from the IRS phone operators regarding whether or not the change to the refund information will prompt an additional economic stimulus payment to make up for it, or if we'll have to try and get it some other way.

Any insight you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Tobie Stanger (Consumer Reports)]

Sonja,

I'm afraid I don't have any additional information. Keep trying with the IRS.

In addition, there will be another chance to file for the remainder of the stimulus payment in tax season 2009 for folks who didn't feel they got their due this year, so all hope is not lost. Visit this site next February for more details.

[Richard Roberts]

The posted schedule says that our check should have been mailed on 16 May. We have not received it and the interactive website says that it has no information. It also states that calling will yield no more info. Does there appear to be a general delay? What can we do now?

[geri]

When will we get the stimulas refunds for parents receiving child support its been an awful long time why is it taking so long I live in california

[Robert D. Pullum]

Where do I find a schedule for checks being mailed?

[tracy]

my dad took earlier retirement at age 55, hes now 57. he files a tax return every year. Why is the IRS saying retirment pensions are not included if he has to pay taxes on his pension?
please help!

[Glenda]

We filed an injured spouse form (form 8379) for years 2006, 2007 and for the stimulus payment, but they've been ignored for 2007 and the stimulus payment. We received letters stating they were keeping our refund and rebate to offset old school loans, so we filed the injured spouse form "again" and haven't heard a word to date. As for the 2006 filing, we've heard nothing at all about that one. What gives and what should I do?

[Alem]

I forgot to include my children's SSN in my 2007 tax return. As a result of that I received a notice from the IRS that basically said I owe them so much in taxes. I called and explained what had happend and that part was resolved. The IRS, however, excluded my child from being eligible for the economic stimulus rebate. I have been filing tax with my children as dependants for more than thirteen years. They have them in their data base. Yet for this purpose decided not to send me the kids part of the rebate even after IRS was given the SSN of the kids. Is there any way I can extract this money out of the IRS grip?

[DANIEL SIMS]

i havent rrecieved my stimulus check for my rebate. my last of my social is 30, should i have herd about it yet

[roy]

my wife and I filed back in april, and have yet to receive any stimulus payments,is it still coming ?

[Gwen Muguerza]

My CPA filed (E-filed) my 2007 Tax Return last April, 2008 but never received a Tax Stimulus Rebate, and here it is at the end of 2008. Who do I contact to find out why neither my husband nor I received this?

[Cathleen]

I am supposed to recieve a refund. I checked the status online and it said refer to topic 203. I called the FMS automated line and they said there is not any debt for my social security number.
What do I do?

[AndreaP]

A refund anticipation loan (RAL) is a high interest rate short-term loan secured by a taxpayer’s expected tax refund, and designed to offer customers quicker access to funds than waiting for their tax refund. This is sometimes commonly called tax refund loans which become known to all. This is process by your tax preparers against a tax refund. If your refund gets rejected by the IRS, then you have to pay it all back, plus astounding interest. Then you will used your personal account when applying into direct deposited. Moreover, the high interest rates draws a lot of criticism of tax refund loans, and the IRS is firmly committed to not getting involved.

[juan adame]

i am asingle parent with 2 kids don make the much where i work