Tax rebate Feed

No increase in 2011 Social Security benefits, but a $250 check possible

2011 will be the second consecutive year that Social Security recipients won't get any cost-of-living increase in their monthly checks. They might, however, get a bit of relief in the form of a $250 payment. First, the bad news about continuing flat Social Security benefits. January 2010 marked the first time since automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, calculations began in 1975 that recipients of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Administration Pension and Disability Compensation and Railroad Retirement benefits did not receive a hike in their government checks. Continued stagnation of these benefits will continue in 2011. There won't be... Read more →


America's become the great rebate country. In addition to all those tax rebate checks during Dubya's tenure, in these early years of the Obama administration we've gotten lots of energy-related rebates. Remember Cash for Clunkers? Officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System or CARS, that program last summer enticed more drivers than expected to traded in their gas guzzlers for energy efficient autos. Next came the appliance rebate extravaganza. Here states got a chunk of $300 million appropriated as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA for short, but better known as the February 2009 stimulus bill)... Read more →


April 15 is a distant memory for most taxpayers, but as the IRS works through the millions of tax year 2008 filings it has received, some folks are learning their rebate claims are causing problems. You remember the rebates. They were the $300 to $600 checks that were approved in February 2008, sent out that spring and were supposed to jump start the economy. The amount of those checks was based on 2007 income, but they actually were "prebates" that were accounted for on 2008 returns as the Recovery Rebate Credit. And that's where the trouble started. Folks who didn't... Read more →


My mother will be so happy. Not that she didn't believe me, her perfect daughter (her words, not mine; really!), when I told her back in February that she and her friends would be getting some extra spending money thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But, like her journalist daughter, my mom likes a little verification on important things like unexpected money from Uncle Sam. SSA on the job: That assurance came yesterday when Mary Glenn-Croft, deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration, told a Congressional hearing that the new law's payments to retirees would be delivered in... Read more →


For workers, the new Making Work Pay tax credit provision in the just-passed stimulus package will mean a few extra dollars in their paychecks. The latest word is that about $13 a week should start showing up in pay envelopes in June. But what if you don't get a paycheck? That would be the case for retirees and veterans. During last year's stimulus rebates process, these folks got a $300 payout based on the amount of retirement money they received as long as they filed a tax return to let the IRS know of the benefits. That rebate system is... Read more →


The latest economic stimulus package, officially known as H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is halfway home. The House signed off on the compromise measure this afternoon. The Senate could possibly vote on the bill tonight. As soon as details about what was in the bill, and especially the Making Work Pay credit, started coming out, people started asking questions. Now that the new tax break is imminent, the queries are coming fast and furious. "I already filed my taxes for this year. Do I need to refile now to get this money?" asks Jessica. "Will... Read more →


A new federal financial package to try, once again, to kick start the economy is on pace to become law just before next month's Presidents' Day break. The $303 billion measure, $276 billion of it specifically dealing with taxes, was approved yesterday by the House Ways and Means Committee. House leaders are planning a full vote next Wednesday, Jan.28. Then it goes to the Senate, where pressure is coming from not only colleagues on the other side of Capitol Hill, but also the new Administration to get a bill on President Obama's desk by Feb. 16. Another prepaid credit: So... Read more →


The hubby and I got back home last night from a three-day weekend trip to find our economic stimulus payment had arrived. The mail bonus capped off three great days in the the Dallas area where we took a break from work, ate good food, saw a cool King Tut exhibit and cheered the Cowboys to a win! Our IRS money's arrival is one advantage to filing in October instead of April: The rebate check arrived just in time for holiday shopping! But if you filed earlier than the hubby and I and still haven't received either your expected refund... Read more →


New stimulus plan: tax cuts, not rebates

A second stimulus package is in the planning stages, but don't get your hopes up for a second rebate check. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Wall Street Journal today that her party, fresh from capturing the White House and adding to its numbers on Capitol Hill, is considering a two-staged effort to boost the shaky U.S. economy. The outlook right now is for a $60 billion to $100 billion stimulus package, followed early next year by a companion measure that would include a "permanent tax cut." Pelosi said any measure enacted in a lame-duck Congressional session this month would... Read more →


It's still in the just talking about stage, but Capitol Hill is starting to toss around ideas about what might be in a second stimulus package. At yesterday's Ways and Means hearing (previewed here) suggestions included infrastructure projects and more unemployment insurance money. Yep, you guessed it, those were on the wish lists of the state and city officials who testified. Links to the testimony presented at the hearing can be found at this Ways and Means Web page. Support for more rebate checks: But of more interest to most taxpayers are the suggestions from those who didn't make a... Read more →


$266 million. That's how much money the IRS is trying to get to the appropriate taxpayers. Most of that money is from rebate checks that the IRS is having trouble delivering. Yep, this rebate deal is causing all sorts of headaches for the tax agency. First, it didn't send out thousands of checks because the associated returns had mismatched Social Security numbers. This time, though, the tax man really did put the checks in the mail, but they came back because of bad addresses. This happens every year. Usually, people file returns and move, forgetting to let Uncle Sam also... Read more →


October, already a big month for the IRS, is even busier this year. Not only is the agency processing the millions of returns filed on the final Oct. 15 extension date, it also will be processing the economic stimulus payments for those taxpayers. And, oh yeah, it will be sending out some tax rebates that it previously said could not be delivered because of name and Social Security mismatches. A taxpayer by any other name: Although the tax ID number delay isn't a new policy, it took on extra significance this year as folks anxiously awaited their stimulus rebate checks.... Read more →


OK. I've been smacked down by the Fed chief. Testifying before the House Budget Committee this morning, Ben Bernanke said a second economic stimulus package might be warranted. So much for my plea of say it ain't so, not to mention my apparently premature so long to a second rebate. What kind of stimulus? Despite persistent efforts by Budget panel members, the Federal Reserve chairman refused to be pinned down on exactly what should go into any possible legislation that might provide another round of tax rebates. Rather, Bernanke emphasized that any rebate should be timely, targeted and temporary. Neither... Read more →


The chances for a second economic stimulus payment before the end of the year have essentially evaporated. Facing opposition from House Republicans as well as the strong possibility that many lawmakers might not be in a mood to return to D.C. if they are voted out on Nov.4, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has backed off her earlier idea of pushing through a second rebate. Pelosi and colleagues briefly considered another stimulus payment. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama alluded to it in announcing his revised economic plan. Thankfully, some sanity prevailed. "We could add a rebate, tax cut, or something... Read more →


Second stimulus plan in the works

Well, it's obvious that Sen. Barack Obama doesn't pay any attention to me. In announcing his new economic policy plan today, the Democratic presidential nominee called on Congress "to pass a plan so that the IRS will mail out the first round of [Obama's proposed] tax cuts as soon as possible." Yep, that's the second rebate, which I argued against just this morning. Other tax proposals that Obama mentioned today in discussing his economic plan include: Eliminating capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and start-up companies. Allowing families to withdraw penalty-free up to 15 percent from IRA or... Read more →


Another stimulus package? Say it ain't so!

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for you and me, not the IRS, having our money. But this rebate mania has to stop. Word is that House Democratic leaders are putting together a second economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $150 billion. They plan to call Representatives back to D.C. for a lame duck session to try to push it through. C'mon people. Get real about money for once. Rebates don't work on a macro-economic level. The Tax Foundation's Tax Policy Blog and the Tax Policy Center's TaxVox both say so. So does former Bush 41 Treasury... Read more →


What a difference a rebate makes

By early July, the IRS had received more than 145 million tax returns. At that same point last year, 131 million folks had filed. That filing increase of almost 12 percent is no doubt almost totally attributable to the economic stimulus payments. The only way to get a rebate this year is to file a 2007 return. And the numbers will continue to climb as the Oct. 15 extended filing deadline nears. By the numbers: Unfortunately, the IRS wasn't able to provide dollar amounts in connection with returns processed by the week ending July 5 (Excel format) due to "technical... Read more →


Rebates: one down, one to come?

The bulk of the rebate checks have been delivered. Can't you just feel the economic stimulation. (I hope that last sentence doesn't cause any content filter problems.) And just as we taxpayers, if not necessarily the economy, recover from the sometimes confusing, often frustrating rebate process, some lawmakers are planning round two. CQ Politics reports that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.; pictured at left) is expecting the House to consider a second economic stimulus package by the time Congress adjourns in late September. Hoyer's Republican colleagues and Dubya say it's too soon to think about another attempt to jump start... Read more →


Rebates could cost IRS $862 million

As IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman was testifying before Congress last week (blogged here) about how his agency was dealing with the delivery of millions of economic stimulus payments, the Government Accountability Office chimed in with its findings on that issue. The GAO report Tax Administration: Data on the Effects of the Economic Stimulus Program on the Internal Revenue Service's Telephone Service and Costs (GAO-08-916T) looks at exactly what the title says. The report's summary notes that the hastily passed rebate measure "created [an] additional, unanticipated workload for IRS and required IRS to act quickly to deal with the public's... Read more →


IRS still looking for 5M rebate recipients

Around 5 million people are eligible for rebate checks, but have yet to file the necessary 1040 forms to collect the money. Some of these folks are like the hubby and me, procrastinators who filed for an extension. But the most of the yet-to-be-delivered checks are destined for individuals who receive Social Security and some veterans' benefits. That group, which usually doesn't have to file tax returns, is still lagging despite IRS rebate notification efforts. IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman (that's him there at right) told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday on the rebate process (blogged about here) that the... Read more →