More 2008 Tax Rebate Money Coming – Recovery Rebate Credit

The IRS has released information on what they are calling the 2008 Recovery Rebate Credit. The Recovery Rebate Credit is an extension of the 2008 Tax Stimulus Rebate that is available for certain indivuidals.

The recovery rebate credit is not another check, but will give you the amount back on your 2008 tax return. You need to claim the recovery rebate credit on Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.

What are the conditions to qualify for the 2008 Recovery Rebate Credit?

• Individuals who did not receive an economic stimulus payment.
• Those who received less than the maximum economic stimulus payment in 2008 — $600 per taxpayer; $1,200 if married filing jointly — because their qualifying or gross income was either too high or too low.
• Families who gained an additional qualifying child in 2008.
• Individuals who could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return in 2007, but who cannot be claimed as a dependent on another return in 2008.
• Individuals who did not have a valid Social Security number in 2007 but who did receive one in 2008.

I actually qualified from the third option. I had my daughter in August 2008. I was clued into this by Turbo Tax when it showed me this screen during my Federal Tax review:

This was a pleasant surprise since I was unaware of this recovery rebate credit in the first place.

There is a Recovery Rebate Calculator if you would like to see what you qualify for as well as a Question and Answer page that can clarify your questions.

Remember, that you like the last rebate, you need to file a 2008 tax return to receive the recovery rebate credit if you qualify. Accorind to the IRS, “You must file a tax form to claim the credit, and be sure to fill in lines 7, 20a and 70 of your Form 1040 (lines 7, 14a and 42 of Form 1040A; lines 7 and 9 of Form 1040EZ).”

This does not take the place of the potential 2009 tax stimulus rebate that congress is pouring over right now, so hopefully there is more money to come!

Bernanke Hopes for 2009 Tax Stimulus

Yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke endorsed the possibility of another tax rebate sometime in 2009. Again, the point of this rebate is to stimulate the economy by giving cash to the people to start spending. According to the White House, they are high on the idea of another stimulus package in addition to the $700 billion dollar bail out plan passed a few weeks ago.

Details are still scarce as to when the rebate will be passed as well as how much we will all see in our pockets. Democrats and Republicans jointly think this is a good idea, primarily since this is election season I’m sure. I guess the real question is how are we going to pay for all of this. The government seems to be doling out money like it grows on trees. We are still paying for an expensive war, paying golden parachutes to executives that caused the economy to crash in the first place, as well as carrying a huge national debt. Kind of funny to think that if I ran my finances like this, my home would be in forclosure which is the same reason we are in this mess.

It remains to be seen if this 2009 tax stimulus rebate will do anything to jump start the economy. The last tax rebate has not shown that it did much to help. I can tell you right now that if I receive anything from it, it will be going straight into the bank into my emergency fund. Besides, you never know when they will be asking for it back in the form of a tax increase later!

As more details appear about this new proposed rebate, I will be posting about them here. So keep checking back, or sign up for email updates in the upper left corner of the site.

2009 Tax Stimulus Rebate a Reality?

EDIT: Do you qualify for the 2008 Recovery Rebate? Find out HERE.

I have a little update on anther 2009 Tax Stimulus Rebate. As part of the multi trillion dollar bail out that the government is putting together to deal with mortgage / housing crisis, lawmakers have proposed building in another Tax Stimulus Rebate to help spur consumer spending. They are referring to this as Son of Stimulus. There is still no final decision or details as to how much the rebate would give each of us, but as details emerge I will let you know.

In other tax rebate related talk, Barack Obama, as part of his campaigning, is proposing that Americans receive another tax rebate. This time you would see $1000 to help offset the rising price of gasoline and to spur spending. How will this be paid for you ask? His idea is to get it from a tax on the oil company profits. Obviously since Barack is using this as a campaign tactic this could take months even if he takes office in January. I have a feeling we will see something sooner from Bush to give the republican campaign a little shot in the arm.

Will the 2009 Tax Stimulus Rebate be a reality? Only time will tell, but at the rate the economy is sinking I am definitely optimistic.

Another Tax Stimulus Rebate?

There are rumblings that there will be another tax rebate offered to Americans in 2009. I have heard the rumors but didn’t hear anything concrete until now. I am going to refer to this as the 2009 tax stimulus rebate as to not confuse this with the current rebate that is currently is progress.

This week, Congress will be reviewing a proposal that would inject $50 billion into the US economy. This proposal would mainly benefit middle class citizens similiar to the last rebate. According to the bill on the table, there will also be funds available for an increase in food stamps benefits, infrastructure funding, increased unemployment benefits as well as home heating old assistance for lower income familes.

As this bill is purely undergoing review there are no details on how much indivuidals and families will receive. The early rumbling that I hear is that the rebate will occur sometime in early 2009 if approved. I will be updating this site regularly with more information on the 2009 tax rebate as it comes available, so keep checking back.