Originally posted by Jesse
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Q. If I'm filing a tax return this year just to get a stimulus payment, by when do I have to file?
A. The IRS encourages everyone to file by the normal April 15 tax deadline: The sooner you file the sooner you can receive your stimulus payment. But if you have obtained a valid six-month extension to file OR if you are filing to establish your eligibility for the stimulus payment, filing by Oct. 15 means the IRS can process your return and issue a stimulus payment before the end of the year. [New 3/5/08]
A. The IRS encourages everyone to file by the normal April 15 tax deadline: The sooner you file the sooner you can receive your stimulus payment. But if you have obtained a valid six-month extension to file OR if you are filing to establish your eligibility for the stimulus payment, filing by Oct. 15 means the IRS can process your return and issue a stimulus payment before the end of the year. [New 3/5/08]
An informal Q&A on the IRS website is certainly not binding. The IRS has made several updates to its website in the past few weeks.
With that being said...
A careful reading of the cited paragraph indicates that the IRS plans to accept and process stimulus payment returns through Oct. 15, even for taxpayers who do not have a valid extension.
Which makes sense. We all know that historically there has been no penalty for filing a federal return late if the return shows a refund or zero balance. Keep in mind that a stimulus payment return, by definition, is a return filed by a taxpayer who is not required to file a return, but is filing one only to establish their eligibility for the stimulus payment. The text of the stimulus law authorizes the IRS to issue stimulus payment checks until December 31.
In the cited paragraph from the IRS website, the key word is OR. This indicates that taxpayers who need an extension because they are actually required to file, and may have a balance due, will also qualify for the stimulus payment, if they are eligible, when they file the return by the extended due date. Those who are not required to file do not even need an extension in the first place.
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