Stimulus payments scheduled for release

The Internal Revenue Service will be sending more than 130 million economic stimulus payments starting May 2, the IRS announced.

Monday, March 17th 2008, 3:47 pm

By: News 9

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service will be sending more than 130 million economic stimulus payments starting May 2, the IRS announced.

The initial round of weekly payments will be completed by early July.

The IRS also announced the availability of a new online calculator on IRS.gov to help people determine if they are eligible to receive an economic stimulus payment and if so, for what amount. Anyone who has prepared a 2007 income tax return can use the calculator.

For those who received or will receive their 2007 income tax refunds through direct deposit, the stimulus payments will also be made through direct deposit -- and will be received quicker than those using the mail system. Those taxpayers who use the mail system to receive their refunds will receive their stimulus payment through the mail.

"To receive an economic stimulus payment, people just need to file their tax returns as they usually do," said IRS acting commissioner Linda E. Stiff in a press release. "The payments will be automatic for the vast majority of taxpayers."

Below are the schedules for economic stimulus payments related to tax returns processed by April 15, 2008.

Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns

Received and Processed by April 15

Direct Deposit Payments
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your economic stimulus payment deposit should be sent to your bank account by:
00 - 20	May 2
21 - 75	May 9
76 - 99	May 16
Paper Check
If the last two digits of your Social Security number are:	Your check should be in the mail by:
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

A small percentage of tax returns will require additional time to process and to compute a stimulus payment amount. For these returns, stimulus payments may not be issued in accordance with the schedule above, even if the tax return was processed by April 15.

All or part of an economic stimulus payment may be applied to back taxes or certain other debts of the taxpayer, such as delinquent child support and student loans. In such cases, the IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer explaining the offset.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that they can get their stimulus payments faster by using direct deposit when they file their tax return.

For people who normally don't need to file a tax return, the IRS and Free File Alliance have a special program set up to allow for free electronic filing. IRS Free File -Economic Stimulus Payment is available at IRS.gov.