Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009
Collect a Stimulus Rebate
You may be entitled to a stimulus rebate. If you did not qualify for the government's stimulus check last summer based on your 2007 income but suffered a blow to your earnings in 2008, you may be eligible to apply for a recovery-rebate credit on your 2008 return. The stimulus checks were for as much as $600 per person or $1,200 per couple and phased out at annual incomes of $75,000 per person ($150,000 for couples). "One in five people is owed something," says Amy McAnarney, executive director of the Tax Institute at H&R Block. Lost income is your most likely qualifier. But a change in filing status — marrying, getting a divorce or having a baby — might also trigger a tax credit under the recovery program.