Stimulus Package

This year, the federal government rolled out a stimulus package to U.S. taxpayers that filed a 2007 return and met the standard requirements.

You are eligible for a stimulus package if:

• You file your tax return prior to October 15, 2008.
• You or your family has at least $3,000 in qualifying income from, or in combination with, Social Security benefits, Veterans Affairs benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits and earned income. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not count as qualifying income for the stimulus payment.
• You and any family members listed on your tax return have valid Social Security numbers.
• You are not a dependent, or eligible to be a dependent, on someone else’s federal tax return. (The same must be true of any family members claimed on your return.)

There are many people who have filed expecting their refund but are yet to receive their check. I have dealt with many clients who were expecting a check, but instead received a bill from the IRS. The IRS seems to have been able to use the ‘stimulus package’ as a way to get people who haven’t file in YEARS to file. The IRS then takes the stimulus money and applies it to your outstanding debt that you didn’t even know about. We talked before about “SFRs” from the IRS and how they will assess you a tax debt.

So, have you filed and never received your stimulus package? Guess what, you probably have an outstanding tax debt. There are tax professionals available to help you research your tax history and find out exactly what the IRS is stating!