Your stimulus payment is on the way...eventually

If you played all your cards right and happen to have the right Social Security number, you could get your economic stimulus payment (rebate) this week. The IRS says the first rebate payments--of up to $1,200 per couple and $300 per child--are going out via direct deposit this week to qualifying taxpayers who 1) had their returns processed by April 15; 2) arranged for direct deposit of their refunds and 3) have Social Security numbers ending with the last two digits between 00 and 20.

The rest of us will have to wait a little longer. Those who meet conditions 1) and 2) but have higher Social Security numbers should see their rebates by May 16. The remainder of folks who filed on time could wait as long as July 11, especially if they opted to have their refunds--and hence their rebates--sent by mail. In general, your rebate will be sent the same way as your refund.

That said, there are exceptions. Even if you opted for direct deposit of your refund, your stimulus rebate will be mailed if:

•You opted to direct-deposit your refund into more than one account (called a split refund).

•You got your refund through a refund anticipation loan (RAL). The IRS says it will not direct-deposit rebates into such arrangements. Folks who used H&R Block's Emerald Card to hold their refunds, for example, will get mailed rebate checks. (Click here for details from the IRS, and scroll through the section called "When and How.")

•You paid your tax-prep and/or electronic filing fee by subtracting it from your refund. These arrangements, which use third-party banks--such as Santa Barbara Bank and Trust for TurboTax users--are not eligible for rebate direct deposit.

•You arranged for direct deposit of your refund but then had to change or close your bank account after getting it. When the IRS's attempt to direct deposit fails, the agency will send you a rebate check.

The IRS says it soon will be putting an interactive feature on its Web site that will help taxpayers track the status of their rebates, similar to the "Where's My Refund?" page. Check later this week at www.irs.gov.

Comments

[jennifer]

I haven't recived my ckeck at this time.My shedule date for direct deposit was May 9.Is their a delay for May 9 direct depost checks?Has anyone else not recived their check?

[joseph washington]

i think this is a joke also i didn t get my check should have been posted may 16 but it didn t they tell u to go to irs page to see when u will get it,wrong it dont tell u nothing

[Web Doyenne]

The online "Where's My Stimulus Payment" calculator said it was to have been deposited by May 16 and that I should contact them by May 21 if it still wasn't there. It's not there. I called the "hotline" at 1-866-234-2942...worthless. Got the same info as on the "Where's My Stimulus Payment" page, but there is no option to talk to a human being. Now what?

Why even bother posting a payment schedule and setting up a payment calculator online if the information is not accurate? All it does is aggravate people. They should just have said, right from the get-go, all payments will be made by July 1...or whatever.

[Lisa]

I have the exact situation that was posted by Lily (above) I have been married for 24 years, and went to SS all those years ago and changed my name to my new married name. Three years ago, I was applying for a passport, and the issue came up that my SS# and my name didn't match, so I took SS a notarized copy of my marriage license, got it changed and GOT MY PASSPORT WITH MY MARRIED NAME. So now, I get a notice that STILL, 24 years later, the SS Adm. (those geniuses) have still not changed my name to my married name, so my husband and I won't get our stimulus check this year. They said the IRS would have the info in a week or 2, but that we will now have to wait till NEXT YEAR to file a form with our 2008 tax return to get the stimulus check next year. Just another proud moment bought and paid for by OUR tax dollars. I've paid faithfully for 30 years, and they can't have the decency to get my name right in their system, and now I'll have to wait till next year to get a 2008 economic stimulus check. And people think that these morons can run healthcare??????

[Brian]

I filed taxes like a good citizen and wrote a check to the Treasury for about $1k, which was very promptly deposited by the gov't within 2 weeks. Note, VERY quick to take my money.

I know I qualified for the tax stimulus pymt. My SS dictates my paper check should have been sent May 23rd. No check in mail. When I check their on-line status tool, there is "no specific information available". Their 866-234-2942 hotline is a waste of tax-payers money.

I noticed in reading the above posts that some folks actually spoke to a [presumably] living human being at the IRS. Can someone post that number? There is no default to service representative with the -2942 number, you get kicked off if you defy the available menu of choices.

What a joke.

[Tracy]

I have the same problem as Lisa and Lily. Married 26 years, working almost the whole time and never changed my name on my Social Security. I went in on Friday and filed the new name, but according to the IRS I have to wait until next year for my check (which sounds like a faint promise to me). I refuse to go down without a fight and intend to write my congressman. This is discrimination against married women...Has anyone in this situation resolved it successfully?

[ghny]

I never changed my ss card to reflect my married name, and I have previously filed jointly with DH and never had an issue receiving my tax refund, now all of a sudden they are denying me my refund saying we do not qualify because one of our names is not correct!

[nr]

I too never changed by social security # to my married name and filed tax return jointly. The IRS is saying we now have to wait until next year. I have since changed my social security card to my married name. I contacted Senator Arlen Specter's office and they were unable to help. Just another example of how the government lets down its citizens!!

[M.W.]

I am so glad to hear I am not alone with this married name BS. I just told my husband they better not screw us out of the money next year but I am worried they will, or not give us money and give it as a write-off which I DO NOT want. I want the money as was promised.

[Kathy Clark]

Same problem as Lily and Lisa--I too went onto the website to find out where my stimulus check was and found out after being married for 23 years that my name did not match my married name that we are not getting it. This is not fair. I went down to SS today and sat there for 3 hours to change it only to find out I am not going to get the money this year either. They should have warned people before they were going to do this to check to make sure their records were correct. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of women out there that have not changed their name. There was a woman that went before me that said she had been married for 63 years and did not know she had to change her name. I have worked for the past 40 years, paid taxes and now I am out of luck. Thank you IRS and President Bush!

[dorothy]

7/21/08 If you didn't change your name with social security and file taxes using your married name, you can still get your stimulus payment this year! (I had no problem for 20 years!) After over 6 hours over several days and talking to five different people, IRS has promised to send out our stimulus check in three weeks instead of waiting until next year. You need to have your social security card in front of you, and the intake person has the authority to release your stimulus check over the phone due to a new publication/directive. It may take a few tries, because only one of the five people I talked to thought to check if there were any updated instructions/authorizations that would cover such circumstances not originally anticipated when the stimulus payment program was created.
I still was advised to change my records at ss to prevent any future snafus, but I was thrilled to have found the right person who cared, was intelligent and didn't dismiss the situation with "there's nothing I can do." I probably shouldn't count my chickens before they are hatched, but I am feeling confident that "the check is in the mail!"

[Jerry]

Same problem. Found out after being married for 27 years that my wife's name was never changed at SS office. We have filed joint returns since 1981. Talked to IRS offices three times and told must wait until 2009. Dorothy.. did you call the IRS 1-800-829-1040 number to get the check released? Any idea what the "new publication/directive" was called and when it came out. I'd sure like to get my $1,500 this year.. The IRS not only did not send my wife's payment but did not send mine or my son's.

[dorothy]

Jerry- My worse fear has been realized: I seem to have found the ONLY person at IRS that is staying on top of new developments and cares enough to go out of his way to make sure he was giving correct information. Last week I called the 1040 number several times as well as the local offices and got the typical "I don't know and I don't care" people. I was ready to write my Congressman as one of the workers had suggested, but decided to try the Tax Advocacy number.

They can't
help with stimulus problems but they were able to connect me directly to the IRS customer service without going through hoops just to get in the queue to talk to a person. I didn't have my social security card in front of me, so I was advised
to call back. The
second person told me I had to wait until next year, but when I pushed, he checked my "history" and saw that the previous person had the foresight to note the number of the publication on my intake info. Even THEN, he was doubtful, but when he checked it, he GRUDGINGLY had to admit that they could manually change the records at IRS due to "unusual circumstances." Sorry- they didn't tell ME the publication # and it seems apparent that very few will go out of their way, but if you're persistent and lucky you might get one of the few "good" people with a brain there! I was ready to give up, but I'm pretty stubborn and had the same thing- they didn't just kick out MY payment, but they were also denying my husband's and son's. That's not just pocket change! Good luck!

[nr]

Dorothy, I called the IRS again today about your same problem. They told me that there is no new publication/directive and that we do have to wait until 2008. I am just wondering if there is anymore information that you or anyone else can give on this problem. (Social Secuiry # being in maiden name). Did you actually receive your payment as of yet?

[dorothy]

nr-I won't REALLY know if I was successful for a few more weeks. I don't have the patience to call IRS again, but the rebate hotline still says that I(we) "don't qualify"!!!!I'll let you know if I get any further info or if I actually receive my check. Sorry- wish I could help more!

[dorothy]

I was feeling guilty that I couldn't be more helpful and the rebate hotline still says I'm not getting a check, so I decided to give it one more shot. They verified that my check will be in the mail on the 8th and the correction HAD been made. The person I talked to confirmed that ther was an internal memo (no publication number) that gave them the authority to make corrections over the phone if they can verify everything 100% (as they did in my case.)When I told her she was only the second person who seemed aware of this, she explained that some of the people you talk to are not usually working in customer service and have access but no motivation to find out about the "internal memos." She admitted that it was "the luck of the drawer" when you call. You could just keep trying, until you get someone with a brain, or you can ask to speak to someone who is actually IN customer service who SHOULD be more helpful (no guarantee!)But the bottom line is you should NOT have to wait until next year if it's just a matter of ss# with maiden name!!
I would love to hear if ANYONE else has success! Good luck.

[nr]

Dorothy, I really appreciate your help. Just wanted to let you know that I called the IRS again today and was told the same thing. We have to wait until next year. They said that since we filed in married name and didn't change name with Social Security until after return was filed they can't help us. I am happy to hear that it seems like it will work out for you. I wrote a letter to our Congressman today, we'll see how that goes. I too would like to hear if anyone else had this problem. Thank you!!

[dorothy]

Tobie Stanger:
Is there any way you can help these people who did not change their name with ss? The rules allow for adjusting the info over the phone and processing checks this year instead of next, but most of the people answering the phone don't have a clue what's going on and find it easier just to tell people to wait until next year.Should people ask to speak to a supervisor? It SHOULDN'T be the "luck of the draw"- what's fair and correct for one should be the same for all. They released my check,but I feel bad for all the other people who weren't as lucky as I was. Any way you can find out anything from IRS to help these people? Since it takes a minimum of a half hour to get through to a person, telling people to keep calling back until they get someone intelligent is not practical or fair. Thanks.

[Vincent]

I served in Iraq. Met my wife in Germany where I was stationed. Married for 10yrs now. 6 of them while in the military.
I don't get a check because I filed my wife, who is German, with her Tax ID no. Since I am not in the military anymore... No money from the gov. for me and my three American kids.
My wife is a legal citizen for over 3 years now. They told her she would get her SS no. within 3 weeks of moving here.
We are still waiting!!!
Ha, ha, ha... I got screwed big time!

[dorothy]

I received a letter from IRS confirming that their info regarding my ss in maiden name HAS been corrected and the check is on its way! I am so disappointed that on this website alone there are 8 others with the same situation that DIDN'T have success. Unfortunately, this seems to correspond with the extremely low ratio of intelligent, motivated workers in the IRS and NOT a problem with the "system." If I can get my check, then Lily, Lisa, Jerry, NR, etc. should have had the same success. Just a thought- I know the IRS people give their name and id number when you call- I think you are justified in writing to IRS and letting them know what incompetent workers they are. (If they don't know there is anything wrong with their workers, we can't expect them to do anything to improve things.) Let's try to improve the system- otherwise we are just "victims" of the system that our tax dollars pay for!! Good luck!

[dorothy]

Recap:To all of you who filed taxes with your married name but still have your maiden name on your social security card, you DON'T have to wait until next year! As I previously noted, it took some doing, but I GOT OUR CHECK YESTERDAY! You just have to decide if it's worth the time and effort to make it happen or if it's just easier to wait until next year. (Just on principle I REFUSED to wait until next year.) But please keep in mind that the blame is with the IRS employees, not the IRS itself or the government!

[nr]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I called the IRS again about social security card being in maiden name - tax return done in married name. Again, I was told that we have to wait until next year for our stimulus rebate. I actually had an IRS manager call me back and she told me the same thing. She said that at one point they were able to change it but in June they received an alert telling them not to do that. She was very helpful but still couldn't do anything about it. I did write our Congressman, Joe Sestak and our Senator, Arlen Specter because unless congress steps in according to the IRS there is nothing they can do. We"ll see where that gets us. Anyway the more people that contact their government officials about this the better the chance of getting this corrected. For those of you that had the same problem and did receive your rebates, I am glad it worked out for you.

[Jerry]

Big surprise today 11/14/2008. $1,500 was deposited into my checking account from the IRS. After the IRS told us multiple times (and in writing twice) that we would not get our stimulus check until 2009 tax filing, the dollars arrived without notice. No call, letter, e-mail or anything from the IRS, just a deposit. I called the IRS and verified it was out stimulus check they deposited. IRS told me the rules have been modified and they now are re-processing the rejected claims.
My original problem was that after being married for 27 years my wife's name was never changed at SS office. We have filed joint returns since 1981. We updated my wife's SSN records in July 2008. Hopefully others are having there payments processed also..

[Kathy]

I received a letter today stating that I would be receiving our stimulus payment...I was told I was not because I never changed my name when I got married 23 years ago and would have to wait until 2009. Apparently the government had a change of heart and over 53000 married couples with the same problem will be getting their payments. It is posted on their website now. Hope this is a great treat just in time for Christmas for all these couples. I was surprised!