Welcome back! As promised yesterday, here's Part Two of our continuing Q&A concerning the upcoming tax rebate checks. Today we're looking at questions that affect folks on opposite ends of the age scale: kids and retirees.
Bankrate readers are well aware of the cost of raising kids today. So it's no surprise that folks want to make sure they do what's necessary to get the extra $300 per child rebate.
One recurring questions iregards kids away at school: 'I claim my son who's away at college as a dependent. Do I still get the extra child payment?"
Unfortunately, parents in this situation will not get the added $300 per child unless their children are younger-than-usual university students. You can get the extra rebate money only if your child was younger than 17 as of Dec. 31, 2007.
That's right, even though the stimulus package rebate check is technically an advance credit on your 2008 taxes, the IRS has decided that it's going to use age in 2007 as the cutoff for the additional money going to taxpayers with children.
So if your kid had a 17th birthday party on the last day of last year, you're out of tax rebate luck. Each eligible youngster must have been 16 or younger for all of last year.
We also are hearing from older readers who ask, "I get Social Security benefits and haven't had to file a return in years. What do I do now about getting my rebate?"
If you get at least $3,000 in Social Security or veterans' benefits, the only way to get a rebate check is to file a federal tax return. The good news is that you can file the relatively simple Form 1040A and you don't have to worry about filling in all the lines.
The IRS has posted a sample Form 1040A just for such retirement benefit filers. There's also a special information page for Social Security and veterans' benefits recipients.
And all taxpayers who are eligible for the stimulus package checks should keep an eye on their mailboxes. The IRS says next week it will begin sending out two notices. One will explain the payment program and the other will confirm the recipient's eligibility, the amount he or she can expect and the approximate time table for the payment. Save that second mailing; you'll need it when you file your 2008 tax return next year.
Good news for Oregonians: Yesterday I blogged about the possibility that state income taxes might apply to the federal rebate checks.
Well, info on that situation is trickling in and I'm happy to report that Oregon is in the no-tax category. However, some Oregon taxpayers' federal tax subtraction on their state returns may need to be adjusted as a result of the rebate.
More on how the rebate fits into Oregon's tax system can be found at this Oregon Department of Revenue FAQ page.