The United States Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. This Act provides for economic stimulus payments to be made to over 130 million American households, and you may be entitled to a payment of up to $600 ($1,200 if filing a joint return), plus additional amounts for each qualifying child. The IRS says it will begin sending the one-time payments starting in May.

There are basically three types of taxpayers who will be affected:

* Those that file their tax return for 2007
* Those that don’t file a return but have a total earned income of $3,000 or more
* Those with adjusted gross income

Affects of Economic Stimulus Act

* For the taxpayer who files annual returns, to receive a payment in 2008, you will not have to do anything more than file a 2007 tax return. Of course, the IRS will determine your eligibility and amount of payment.
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For those that don’t have to file a return that have a total of $3,000 or more in earned income, Social Security benefits, and/or Veterans payments, you may receive a payment of around $300 ($600 if filing jointly). You might also receive an additional amount of $300 for each child that qualifies for the child tax credit.
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For the taxpayer with adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $75,000 ($150,000 if filing jointly), the payment will be reduced or phased out completely.

Important things to know about the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008:

* To qualify for payment, an individual, spouse and any qualifying child must have a valid Social Security number.
* Individuals cannot receive a payment if they can be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer.
* Individuals cannot receive a payment if they filed a 2007 Form 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040-PR or 1040-SS.
* All individuals receiving payments will receive a notice and additional information before you receive the payment. If you have questions, you can visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

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