There has been two attempts by the government to use tax breaks to stimulate the economy. The so-called "stimulus packages" passed Congress in the beginning of 2008 and 2009. Both resulted in tax rebates to individuals, but they were handled differently in each year. Those who received stimulus money in 2008 may have to go about thier 2009 tax returns in a different way.
Instructions
1. Check your pay-stubs to see what has been withheld. If you are looking to get a 2009 tax refund from the stimulus package passed early in 2009, you're probably already getting it on a weekly basis. Instead of sending checks out in one lump sum, the IRS adjusted the withholding tables to take out a bit less per paycheck. At the end of the year, individual's withheld amount will be $400 lower and $800 lower for married couples.
2. Check your social security statements. Since the U.S. had deflation in 2009, there was no cost-of-living adjustment. If you qualify for Social Security benefits, you should have already gotten a payment of $250, as it was put into benefit checks in May and June. If you or a loved one is getting Social Security, check your payments for that period and one of them should be $250 bigger than normal. If not, call Social Security and ask why you got overlooked.
3. File for a refund if you are a business owner or self-employed. Self-employed people and small business owners do not get money withheld from their paychecks. They will need to file taxes (the earlier the better) to claim their stimulus money.
4. File a late return or amended return if you didn't file in 2007-2008. You might have 2008 stimulus money coming if you didn't file a 2007 tax form; $600 per person was sent out in the spring and summer of 2008, but the checks were sent to people who had filed 2007 tax forms. If your income was too small to warrant filing tax returns in 2007 and 2008, you probably got overlooked. You may want to file a late return now or an amended return if you filed already for 2008, if you have yet to claim a rebate check.
5. Find out if you qualify for other types of stimulus money. There are other tax credits that flowed out of the 2009 stimulus package, most notable the new home-buyer tax credit. It was set to expire at the end of November, but was extended through June 2010. That gives 10% of the price of a house as a tax credit on your 2009 taxes, up to $8000. Another tax credit that is available is a energy-efficiency credit which gives a 30% tax credit for home improvements that cut energy consumption.
Tags: stimulus money, 2008 have, amended return, Check your, didn file, late return
