Comments on: How the Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate Will Affect 2008 Tax Returns (Updated January 26, 2009)

By: Damien

Damien — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:16:57 +0000

Did your friend purchase a new home? There is a new home buyers credit for $8000 for both 2008 and 2009 now.

By: ice

ice — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:19:10 +0000

can someone explain this to me? i have a friend who said he filed his taxes and received over $7000 back because of some stimulus plan which was recently signed by the president . he’s claiming that i could recieve the same return (even if i’ve already filed my taxes with h&r block and i am only receiving just over $700 in return) he says he has recieved $8100 but this seems to be so far fetched and maybe even illegal to me. have anyone heard of this?

By: Newcomer89

Newcomer89 — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:28:18 +0000

Hi, this is my first year filing taxes and I am new to the stimulus, I did not recieve that much back, but I was wondering will I be affected by the stimulus? Also I am no longer working. Please reply. Because I thought it was supposed to help us “Poor” people.

By: peggr

peggr — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:02:56 +0000

What number did you call to actually talk to someone? I ended up in auto-attendant hell for 20 minutes and still didn’t get to talk to anyone.

thanks,
Peg

By: peggr

peggr — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:00:42 +0000

We got trapped by the last “tax reduction” in takehome pay in W’s administration, because even though the withholding was reduced, our tax liability was NOT. I see this happening again. We got socked with a huge tax bill for 2008 even though we are both deducting only 1 person, have the normal homeowner and charity deductions. Is this going to get even worse with this new so called tax reduction?

By: Aimee

Aimee — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:20:43 +0000

I agree with dunobk1. Our return dropped the EXACT amount we were “given” in that piece of crap stimulus check. I hate the government, I really do…..

By: dunobk1

dunobk1 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:45:52 +0000

ok they say that we do not “pay back” our stimulus payment, but that is a down right lie… let me explain.. if the stimulus check was an advanced credit towards what i owe on my taxes in 2009 then its exactly that..u would think. for example i payed roughly $4,600 in taxes in 2008, after filing my taxes they figured how much i owed leaving me with a return of $3,700 ok taxes payed right and if the stimulus was simply a credit towards what i owe for 2008 then it should have been used towards that $900 that i owed to taxes.. well the last thing they do at the tax center is ask how much i got from the stimulus check, after entering that number..which was $600.. boom my tax return drops from $3700 to $3100 so if that is not paying back the stimulus payment please tell me what the heck it is. i called the irs and even they could not explain it, the “professional” on the phone said its like gettin 100 points at the start of a school class and at the end if u dont get any points taken away, then you end with zero… what is that crap someone shed some light on the situation please!!!

By: AnnieKnot

AnnieKnot — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:43:16 +0000

Help has arrived – I will have no financial worries from now on! As the woman on YouTube predicted, I don’t have to worry any more about paying for my groceries, my gas, or my mortgage!

As part of the 95% of Americans who will see their taxes reduced and thanks to the largesse of ReidBamaLosi, I am ecstatic to report that I now have $22 more each month than I have had before. What should I do first? Pay down my mortgage? Take that dream trip to New Zealand? Fund my grandkids’ college? What else can I do with this windfall of 73 cents per day? Should I start socking it away right now to start funding the future tax increases that are inevitable? That would be the patriotic thing to do, right?

For these golden opportunities, I say thank you, Jesus! No, wait, can’t say that, no reference to religion or God, bad, bad to do that. So whom do I thank? Oh yeah, forgot, thank you to my Big Brother, my Government, who now has an endless supply of funds to support me and all of my fellow citizens, and not-so citizens, for the rest of our lives. An endless supply of money just like the loaves and fishes – no, wait, there I go again with another reference to something, shudder, religious. Thank you, China! Your altruistic generosity is inspiring knowing that you expect nothing in return. Thank you to my dear grandchildren who now have the privilege of paying for this – in more ways than one – for the rest of their lives.

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:48:06 +0000

Hello. I am very confused about one thing. I did not receive the stimulus payment last year(2008), so I did receive it this year. Is what I received the “rebate recovery credit”? I’ve also had a few people tell me that I will also receive later in the year 2009′s stimulus payment. Is this correct? Please someone help me! Thanks! ktnicole05@gmail.com

By: Flexo

Flexo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:09:08 +0000

Tax Apprentice 09: The information you’ve provided is helpful. Thank you for sharing. People continue to have questions due to the way online tax preparation software tallies the refund/bill.

By: Tax Apprentice 09

Tax Apprentice 09 — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:48:58 +0000

I am sorry that you feel my information is not helpful. I am trying to provide relief to those that believe they are being ripped off. I have completed a number of tax returns this year and none of them have had the problems that people on here are having. I have provided this same information to contacts that completed their taxes by themselves and they found that the online program at the time was wrong (before the updates on certain ones). If you want to get your REAL refund back, then heed the knowledge presented and double check your return instead of relying solely on a third party program (These programs are usually very reliable but the stimulus rebate created confusion in the programming).

By: ricer46

ricer46 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:16:12 +0000

Yeah, I finally figured it out. Thanks.

By: ricer46

ricer46 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:14:03 +0000

That’s what I thought too initially, but it’s not so. It’s just an illusion. There are some who did not file for their rebate last year. If you did not, then you get it this year, if you did, then you don’t. Turbotax begins by assuming that you did not receive the rebate, and adds $600 to your refund. Then when you tell it that you did get the rebate. it removes it. Unfortunately Intuit does not explain this well at all, but a bit of research will turn up the proper explanation, and yours is not it,

By: Tax Apprentice09

Tax Apprentice09 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:24:21 +0000

I see that there is a ton of confusion regarding taxes this year. To help simplify this problem I have included some thoughts for you to consider.

- Tax software included the stimulus rebate as INCOME which it should not be doing, this should have been fixed in many of these applications. If you are noticing that the tax rebate is lowering your tax return, then you should look for an updated application or file your taxes using the IRS tax form.

- As stated above, do not include the stimulus rebate from last year as INCOME! If you follow the 1040 closely, you will notice that if you do NOT include the stimulus from last year as income that there is no place for the stimulus to lower your return. On the line pertaining to the Recovery Rebate Credit, follow the RRC worksheet in order to determine the amount to list. The chances are that if you received the rebate last year that you will enter a 0 on this line.

- It pays to consult with a professional tax advisor/preparer because of situations like this. The IRS has rejected over 15% of returns because of these errors.

- The stimulus was an advance of the RRC that is offerred on this year’s tax form. It does not need to be paid back and is not a government scheme to rob the American people. Before jumping to conclusions get the correct information.

By: becky

becky — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:08:53 +0000

I asked a question and it never showed up on here… weird. well Id like to know when people are being reimbursed if they got less than they should have in the stimulus check,
For example I got 698 but the calculator says I should have received 900. 600 for me and 300 for my daughter. I did not receive the 202 dollar difference with my regular tax refund. When would I receive it?

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:43:59 +0000

My tax preparer didn’t figure my refund as being reduced because of the stimulus. The information wasn’t entered anywhere on the return, and was only used to calculate whether or not I was due a Rebate Recovery Credit. Which I was not.

Methinks you are entering the amount of your stimulus on the line that ask for how much the Recovery Rebate credit is, and reducing it as a payment already made to you.

And we all know how much trouble our new Treasury Secretary almost got into for using Turbo Tax.
I’d rather spend the extra money and make sure it’s right.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:44:35 +0000

Confused: Perhaps a better way to look at it is that the economic stimulus increased the money you’ve received (back) from the government overall. If the economic stimulus (and recovery rebate credit) didn’t exist, you’d have the same tax bill this year, owing $55, but you wouldn’t have received the $1,500 last year. Overall, you’re not paying anything back, even if year to year, your numbers make it look that way.

By: confused

confused — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:36:41 +0000

My 2007 refund was $900. My wife and I received a $1500 Economic Stimulus check ($600 for myself, $600 for my wife, and $300 for our son) later that spring so $900 was not the stimulus check. I am not complaining because I will not have to pay back the extra $600. I am just stating that the money received from the stimulus check reduced my 2008 refund. I have been using turbo tax for about five years now because our tax return is fairly simple so I don’t think it is anything new with my return. The CPA that did our taxes the five years before that did not find any other deductions the first year that I conpaired the two and cost around double what turbo tax costs.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:18:29 +0000

Confused: There are a number of ways that is possible. There are more variables that come into play than your income. Take your taxes to a professional if you have questions about your particular tax return. Most importantly, are you sure that was your *refund* not the stimulus check that was $900 last year? Basically, what you’re saying that that your refund *and* your stimulus check were both $900 last year. If not, you are either comparing apples with oranges or you entered the wrong amount as your *stimulus amount* in this year’s tax return.

Entering $900 as your stimulus payment in the form will result in your supposed refund dropping $900. Until you enter $900 on that line in Turbo Tax, the software assumes you didn’t receive a stimulus payment, which according to your note, you did. Ignore Turbo Tax’s calculations until you are done entering everything on your tax form.

By: CONFUSED

CONFUSED — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:06:29 +0000

I am confused. Last year my wife and I received a refund of around $900 from my 2007 return. Our income has not changed this year (everything is exactly the same) but after filling out our 2008 return and putting in the amount of the Economic Stimulus check Turbo Tax says that I owe $55. Before I put in the amount of the Stimulus check my refund was $854. Tell me how this is possible if the Stimulus check is not being deducted from my refund.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:44:05 +0000

Ricer46: I suggest you read the post at the top of this page and my above comments (in green). People who received a stimulus check last year DO NOT have to pay “more” taxes. It is the people who did NOT receive a stimulus check who are eligible to receive that stimulus as a part of their refund (or to reduce the amount of tax they owe).

By: Ricer46

Ricer46 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:28:34 +0000

No, you’re going to have to pay the $1200 back!

Ed. note: This comment is incorrect.

By: Ricer46

Ricer46 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:27:36 +0000

Wrong michele,
It turns out that the “rebate” was merely an interest free loan. A $600 rebate results in having to pay an additional $600 in taxes this year unless you earn more than $75K.

Ed. note: This comment is incorrect.

By: michele

michele — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:35:28 +0000

If I didn’t do research on this, I would still be clueless to how the stimulus check worked. The way the govt explained the stimulus package to me is totally different than what I am finding now, now that I am preparing my taxes. This should have been explained clearly to citizens as to that it was an advance on our tax refunds for 08. I never heard that spring of 08. If I would have known that, I would have done something different with the money.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:20:27 +0000

Oracle: If you now qualify for the stimulus (called the “recovery rebate credit” on the 2008 returns), you will receive the stimulus as a form of an addition to your tax refund (or a decrease to the tax you owe).

By: Oracle

Oracle — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:16:23 +0000

Please clarify for me.
The company I worked for closed and so I had to do just any work I could find.
However I still didn’t net enough money in 2007 to qualify for a stimulus check.
If I do find that I net enough wjen I file my 2008 return, will I receive the stimulus check offered for the 2007 return?
If so, will it be as a refund on my 2008 return?
Or will I not receive anything at all?.
I am confused.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:42:52 +0000

Erick: That’s not an accurate statement. In terms of the economic stimulus/recovery rebate credit, there is no difference between those who owe taxes after filing their return than those who will receive a refund, other than the obvious. The only difference is between people who received their full economic stimulus payment in 2008 and those who did not.

Andrea: You’re probably right. I know I tried to get out the word that the economic stimulus payment was just an *advance* on a new tax credit, but the government didn’t do a good job of communicating and explaining to the public. In all, over the course of the last year and tax returns filed this year, the payment was above and beyond normal taxes, but it doesn’t appear that way to many people.

By: erick

erick — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:36:41 +0000

If you are paying in for taxes you don’t have to pay back the stimulus you received. (you don’t owe more $ than your taxes)

But if you are getting a refund you will get less than expected because you have already gotten it months ago.

Seems a little unfair to me

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:49:20 +0000

What I don’t understand, is why the state thinks they can get paid from our rebate check. Just did my taxes with Liberty Tax Service, and they said there is a handful of states, Oregon included, that are deducting the amount we received for our rebate check ($1200 for us) from our tax return this year. We can usually receive around $1400 back from state, but this year we are barely getting back $200 because of the rebate check. WTF?! Can someone please explain how it is right that we are being taxed on a tax credit? I was told by the tax service that because of this, some people will actually owe money to the state.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:48:42 +0000

I am sorry I should have said we recieved $1200 last year and now we should recieve $1500, right?

By: Flexo

Flexo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:13:34 +0000

Leah: Sounds like you need a better tax accountant. Whoever "they" are who told you this are completely wrong. The information is plain and simple on the form instructions published by the IRS. This site is helpful as well. Good luck!

By: leah

leah — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:04:36 +0000

The way they are telling things on this site is wrong!!! I have done my taxes already and how they explained it to me is totally differnet than what they are printing. You are paying these rebates back, they are also makingn you claim more on you return than what you actuallyn got. My rebate i recieved was 600 dollars, my husbnd received 300 dollars, they sent our return back stating that it was wrong, we had to claim what we COULD HAVE RECEIVED like for 3 dependants is900 dollars and my husband could have recieved 600 dollars based on our income so thats what they are making us claim takin off 1500 dollars for these tax rebates. If it was going to be used against us in the end why did they send these rebates to us.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:41:42 +0000

Matt: The government is not taking back the rebate, it’s just not giving you two. The stimulus payment and the “recovery rebate credit” are the same. You already received your check in 2008, so you’re not receiving the credit (again) in 2009. Just because you felt your return was low doesn’t mean that you’re receiving less that you are supposed to. Of course your *refund* would be higher if you calculated again saying you didn’t receive the credit last year. But you did receive it last year, so you can’t get it again this year.

Yes, the government did a poor job of enacting this credit in a way most people would understand. But it is a simple concept. You can’t receive the credit twice.

By: matt

matt — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 03:12:55 +0000

Well what a rebate! The goverment failed to tell the taxpayers that the credit they recieved in 2008 will be taken away from any tax refund in 2008 taxes. For example i started my taxes today and there was a question that asked how much i recieved in the rebate program. I recieved $300. When finished with taxes I felt the return was low and went back and checked that I did not recieve a rebate and calculated again and the refund was $300 larger, so uncle sam is taking back his “rebate”. I don’t understand, every article I have come across has said you don’t have to pay it back, but in the end you DO!

By: magic

magic — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 06:02:29 +0000

if i recieved only half of what i was supposed to get in the stimulus rebate, would i be getting the other half? or would it just balance out even.. basically what im saying is i only got half and since , i only got half do i have to pay it back since im eligible for the other half…

which would make my income tax return just like normal…

By: topeka

topeka — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:48:45 +0000

Your friend is worthless and should get a job and stop being a drain on the rest of society.

By: Damien

Damien — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:34:10 +0000

Well bummer.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:18:47 +0000

Damien: It’s not a problem. What you’re seeing is the fact that you already received your stimulus credit. The people who haven’t received it yet will have it added to their tax refund (or subtracted from their amount due).

By: Damien

Damien — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:06:02 +0000

I too am running into a problem with H&R tax cut software where my rebate amount is deducting money from my federal return. I was under the understanding that the tax rebate last year would not count towards our return this year because of the “new credit” it was suppose to be applied as (think: child credit for example).

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:03:58 +0000

bet_d: It’s not being “paid back.” It’s a new credit on the 2008 income tax form. You received yours early (in 2008). You received your credit early, like most people in this country. Since they gave you your credit already, you don’t get it now (again).

By: bet_d

bet_d — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:52:36 +0000

Going back to the scenario provided by layddevious, I did the exact same thing. I agree that we are paying this back. This was nothing more than a loan or an advance that is now being paid back with the 2008 tax return. Right?

By: Flexo

Flexo — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:23:57 +0000

Ladydevious: It’s pretty straightforward: there’s a new credit on the 2008 tax return forms. Either you received an advance for the credit in 2008, like most people did (the economic stimulus payment) or you’re getting the credit on your tax return form. The net effect is the same.

By: layddevious

layddevious — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:20:13 +0000

From what I have read on these blogs , my take on the economic stimulus check we received earlier this year is NOT supposed to make any difference in what our refund will be when we file our 2008 taxes. However according to H & R Block tax calculator we have to state the amount we got. It does reduce our refund by the exact amount we received. I did two scenarios with their calculator. On both I put head of household, 1 dependent, and that I made 35,000. I also entered in the same amount for the federal taxes withheld. The first time I entered that I recieved 900 for the stimulus the next time I entered 0 ( that I did not recieve a check ) The expected refund was exactly a $900.00 difference. How is that not taking that money back??

By: ED

ED — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:24:27 +0000

2008 income planning for stimulus checks for http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/how-will-the-economic-stimulus-tax-rebate-affect-2008-tax-returns/

Apparently a key tax planning issue for some is to make sure they have at least $3000 in qualified income in 2008 (if they did not in 2007).

My situation may be true of many. Retired (hence no earned income). Had been debating whether to start social security payments or wait to full retirement age (have other funds to live on). In 2007 I received no social security and it is too late to change this. If I start social security now I can receive over $3000 in 2008. Since I have dependent children (young wife) it appears we could receive $1200 for children and $600 for us. If correct, this becomes a big incentive to start social security now (which means a lower annual payments in future years).

Is my understanding correct?

I can imagine similar situations for others who did not receive full benefits based on 2007 income, such as someone who can take a short term job for extra income, (or someone with a small business whose earning are near $3000 per year) who may want to manage things to have over $3000 in qualified income in 2008 (delaying expenses, taking income a bit earlier, etc.).

Since your can social security checks before full retirement age (65 to 66) and then repay the money and start at full retirement age, it appears many who have stopped working after 62 should be sure to get social security checks in 2008, even if they will later repay them so their future checks will be larger.

If I understand correctly, how come these strategies are not being more widely discussed?

By: kim

kim — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:48:51 +0000

If a person who is a dependent on someone elses tax form (and that person received a rebate), filed separately, and received the rebate on their own, what would happen?

By: Jules

Jules — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:03:48 +0000

My friend is worried that she might not get the stimulus payment because her only source of income was from child support last year and from a winning lottery ticket. She lives with her boyfriend, but he did not claim her as a dependent. She filed taxes from the child support and the lottery ticket for a total of 12,900. She has two children, so shouldn’t she get $1200?

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:56:55 +0000

My daughter recieved her stimulus check and realize her tax form indicated 0 dependent children, which of course reflected an decrease in her stimulas amount that she recieved. She has 2 children. How can she correct this to obtain additional money?

By: Big John

Big John — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:38:37 +0000

Well, I liked the stimilus package when I first heard of it, the President explained it as a SIMPLE way to receive money. He said it is so SIMPLE–you get $600.00 EACH for a married couple that had a certain income, which equals $1200.00 total. EASY RIGHT. Well, I lost around $7000.00 by theft last year so I sent a copy of the police report with my return and deducted this loss. WELL, you guessed it because I lost $7000.00 and received a refund on all money I paid in I only received $600.00 for me and my spouse. SO, I lost twice financially. I just hope there is not a way for me to lose anymore money. The “stimilus” package as presented was really going to help, but did not help me and appears to only be for the people who make more money. PLEASE explain WHY Congress took a good idea and made it so complicated, because it did not help me–due to my theft loss.

By: Dianne

Dianne — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:48:36 +0000

We submitted our 1040 electronically. Near the end of this process, we were asked to “verify the salary” in a box provided. Regrettably, this resulted in a doubling of the reported salary, which in turn, made our adjusted gross income too high to be eligible for the stimulus payment (rebate). We detected this unfortunate error only after our 1040 had been accepted. We corrected the error by submitting an amended return (1040X), which made our adjusted gross income well within the range to receive the rebate. When can we expect our rebate and will it be directly deposited like our anticipated 2007 tax refund?

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:08:45 +0000

What bothers me about this whole “rebate” is that it is not a rebate at all. For the people that barely qualify for this money, they didn’t pay and don’t pay income tax at all. Therefore this is free money for those that are low income.

Consider this your $1200 welfare check.