What Are The Tax Rebate Check Requirements

About the 2008 IRS Tax Rebate Checks

What are the tax rebate check requirements and when do we get the tax rebate checks?

Who gets a tax rebate check and when do we get it, might be two of the most asked questions so far by the Internal Revenue Service this tax season. You can also put "how much will I get" on that list as well.

Well, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin sending about 130 million American Families and Individuals tax rebate checks starting in May of 2008. In recent years, there has been very few things that has spurned so much questions being asked of the IRS than the 2008 tax rebate checks.

Below are some of the most popular questions asked about the Tax Rebate checks, known officially as the 2008 Stimulus Payments.

If you do not normally have to file a tax return, you will have to file one this year in order to get a tax rebate check. The IRS has actually made it so that these individuals can file for free via that IRS Free File program.

Many people are also not clear of whether they would have to pay taxes on this rebate money. The answer is, NO. Initially it was believed that taxes would be due on the money or that the money was actually an advance on next years taxes, but it is neither. The money is free and clear..., no taxes due on it (so don't include it on your taxes next year as income) and it will not affect your possible refund next tax season.

There will be a $300 per child tax rebate for families. Parents should note that in order for them to receive a check for their eligible dependent children, those children have to have Social Security numbers. Even the newborns have to have social security numbers to qualify.

If you are one of those Americans who filed your income tax return early this year, like before the bill that authorized the tax rebate checks actually became law on February 13th. You do not have to worry or do anything to assure that you get your tax rebate payment. As long as the qualified income that was reported was a minimum of $3,000, you should have no problems.

SSI (Supplemental Security Income) recipients will not automatically qualify or disqualify from receiving a tax rebate check.

The bill that was written that authorizes these tax rebates (H.R. 5140) specifically places limits on the qualifying income from a persons Social Security benefits. It places limits on any income that is received by the taxpayer because of entitlements like:

(A) A tier 1 railroad retirement benefit
or
(B) A monthly benefit under title II of the Social Security Act

The SSI program is actually authorized under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, not Title II. So SSI benefits are actually funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security taxes.

SSI is intended to help blind, disabled, and aged people, who have little or no income by providing them with money and a means to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

NOTE: The IRS has also posted warnings as scammers are using this tax rebate stimulus as a way to scam people over the phone with the hopes of getting your vital personal information. Identity theft phone calls and emails have increased dramatically over the last few weeks.