It’s not too late to claim your economic stimulus payment
August 1, 2008
You must file a return by October 15th to receive a payment prior to year’s end. It can take up to eight weeks for the IRS to process the return and issue the check.
People who have no tax filing requirement but have at least $3,000 in qualifying income should file a simple Form 1040A to claim the minimum payment of $300 ($600 for married couples) plus the $300 payment for each qualifying child younger than 17 as of Dec. 31, 2007. Qualifying income includes any combination of earned income, nontaxable combat pay as well as certain payments from the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the Railroad Retirement Board.
For taxpayers who are required to file an income tax return, the IRS will use their 2007 tax return information to determine eligibility for economic stimulus payments of up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples) plus the $300 payment per each qualifying child.
Social Security benefits considered qualifying income include retirement, disability and survivor payments; Supplemental Security Income, known as SSI, is not qualifying income. Veterans Affairs benefits considered qualifying income include disability compensation, disability pension and survivor payments. Qualifying Railroad Retirement payments include the social security equivalent portion of Tier 1 benefits.
Taxpayers must have a valid Social Security Number to qualify for the payment; this includes both spouses filing a joint return and any dependents. Married members of the military may receive economic stimulus payments this fall, even if their spouses or children don’t have social security numbers, following the newly enacted Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008. Also, people cannot be claimed or be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.
For more information about the Economic Stimulus payments visit the IRS Web site at IRS.gov.
Remember that for the genuine IRS Web site be sure to use .gov. Don’t be confused by internet sites that end in .com, .net, .org or other designations instead of .gov. The address of the official IRS governmental Web site is www.irs.gov.
About the Author: Bob Cain
Some 30 years ago Bob Cain went to a no-money-down seminar and got the notion that owning rental property would be just the best idea there is for making money. He bought some. Trouble was, what he learned at the seminar didn’t tell him how to make money on his rental property. He went looking for help in the form of a magazine or newsletter about the business. He couldn't find any.
Always ready to jump at a great idea, he decided he could put his speaking and writing skills to work and perform a valuable service for other investors who needed more information about property management. So Bob ferreted out the secrets, tricks and techniques of property management wherever he found them; then he passed them along to other landlords.
For over 25 years now, Bob has been publishing information, giving speeches, putting on seminars and workshops, and consulting for landlords on how to buy, rent and manage property more effectively.
