elcid89's blog

government "stimulus" checks (when will i get mine!?!?!)

 abuse

 Ok ... While I think the "stimulus" checks soon to be coming from the government are a major mistake, I know each of you wants to know when they might be arriving ...

So ... Here we go ...

It's based on the last 2 digits of your social security number. For those of you married filing jointly, it's based on the first SS number shown on the return. 

For taxpayers who file by April 15 and get their tax refunds deposited directly into a bank or other financial account, the IRS will send the payments from May 2 through May 16. For taxpayers who file by April 15 but don't choose direct deposit, the IRS will mail paper checks from May 16 through July 11.

If you expect a tax refund and choose to directly deposit it into two or three separate accounts (which is probably not many of you, but just in case ...,) the IRS will send your stimulus check in the mail.

If you owe taxes and are sending a payment to the IRS with your return, you can still have your stimulus payment deposited directly into a bank or other account. Simply fill out the appropriate section on your return related to direct deposit, detailing your account information.  If this section is not filled  out, your stimulus payment will be mailed as a paper check.

Lower-income taxpayers and recipients of Social Security & veterans' benefits that aren't normally required to file returns will need to file a return this year in order to qualify for a payment. Bottom line: no tax return filed, no payment at all.

Procrastinators, take note: For stimulus payments to be part of this delivery schedule, the IRS said that tax returns must be "processed" by April 15, not "filed" by April 15th. That implies that a later timetable may apply to taxpayers who mail their returns on or close to April 15, leaving little time for the returns to be processed in time to be included in the schedule.

Ok, on to the part you're interested in.

For those taxpayers with processed returns that selected direct deposit into a single account, find the last 2 digits of your social security number (or, for married filing jointly, the last 2 digits of the first social security number shown on the return) in the following table. The date following it is when you should expect to see your payment show up in your bank via direct deposit.

00-20  May 2

21-75  May 9

76-99  May 16

For those taxpayers with processed returns who elected to receive a paper check, follow the same procedure as above to determine the date by which your payment should have been mailed in the form of a paper check (note: add postal transit time to the date to get a reasonable estimate of arrival time.)

00-09  May 16

10-18  May 23

19-25  May 30

26-38  June 6

39-51  June 13

52-63  June 20

64-75  June 27

76-87  July 4

88-99  July 11

Certain returns that require additional processing (i.e you're in the audit pipeline or you filed 40 eleven million different schedules, among others) will be delayed, but this is expected to be a small number of returns.

If you have a copy of your 2007 tax return handy, you can use this online calculator at the IRS to determine what your estimated payment should be:

http://www.irs.gov/app/espc/