Ending date for stimulus payments?

[Black Bart]

It's my understanding that taxpayers can still file for it after April 15th, but payment would be delayed after that date. Next, I read somewhere here that the final date for filing one is December 31st of this year.

Anybody know the facts for sure?

[JSLATER]

I thought it would end 12/31/08, so I checked and:

Q. I don’t qualify for a stimulus payment based on my 2007 return. But my tax situation will be different in 2008. Will I qualify for any special benefit?

A. Possibly. The 2008 tax instructions will include a worksheet to help those who did not qualify for a payment or those who received a reduced amount determine if they can obtain a benefit when they file their 2008 tax returns next year.

[Larmil]

Oct 15th

It's my understanding that taxpayers can still file for it after April 15th, but payment would be delayed after that date. Next, I read somewhere here that the final date for filing one is December 31st of this year.

Anybody know the facts for sure?

IR-2008-055 states that Oct. 15th is the last date that a return can be filed "that will result in an economic stimulus payment".

[JohnH]

Oct 15 is the last date a return can be filed to receive a stimlus payment check, because the legislation requires that all the checks have to be issued by Dec 31. But there will still be a second chance to claim a credit for the unpaid stimulus payment on the 2008 return for anyone who qualified but did not receive a check for whatever reason.

The interesting thing about all this is that if the person qualified for a payment based on their 2007 return, but did not qualify based on the 2008, they are in a unique situation. If they received a check they get to keep it, but if they did not receive a check they won't be able to claim the credit on the 2008 return. That would be a very small group of people, but there will be some out there who fall into this hole.

[Black Bart]

Have you

seen anything about how much of a delay there might be if it is mailed in after April 15th?
Bonnie posted a schedule of payment dates earlier for those filed by the deadline.

[ecb34691]

I would guess

since a paper return takes normally from 4-6 weeks to get a refund, my guess would be some time after that. IRS has not mentioned any timeframe for a "late" filed return except those received after 10/15 which also happens to be last e-file date.

[Koss]

2007 and 2008

The interesting thing about all this is that if the person qualified for a payment based on their 2007 return, but did not qualify based on the 2008, they are in a unique situation. If they received a check they get to keep it, but if they did not receive a check they won't be able to claim the credit on the 2008 return. That would be a very small group of people, but there will be some out there who fall into this hole.

This is a fascinating topic. Maybe the fact that I am fascinated by it reveals that I need to "get a life."

But this is exactly what happened back in 2001 and 2002, and it had some very interesting unintended consequences...

The stimulus payment includes "an additional $300" for each qualifying child, and this appears to be available even if the person's tax liability is zero. It also appears to be available even if their tax liability is not zero, and even when they have received the full benefit of the $1000 child tax credit on the 2007 return.

So what happens when the taxpayer has a qualifying child on the 2007 tax return, but not on the 2008 tax return?

I am not referring to cases where the child turns 17 during 2008.

I am referring to cases where divorced parents are alternating from year to year, or...

to a married couple that chooses to file separately, putting the kid on his return for 2007, and on her return for 2008.

What happened back in 2001 and 2002 was rather amusing.

The rebate was not tied a specific child or SSN. If you got the money based on the prior year return, but had no qualifying children on the next year's return, the money did not have to be accounted for in any way. The other parent still got the extra money on the next year's return, because they hadn't gotten the money during the previous year.

For some couples with two or three kids, where both have meaningful income, this may be a very compelling reason to file separately for 2007, and put all or most of the kids on one return.

The IRS might try to plug the hole this time around with some Treasury regulations. But quite frankly I doubt it. I'm not saying they don't understand it. But if you try to prevent this type of double-dipping, you end up with other unintended consequences, and all kinds of other baggage. Any mechanism that tries to track it back to a specific child, and determine whether someone else got a rebate for that kid, would be a nightmare.

The way they did it last time was simply based on the number of qualifying children on the return.

So if you have a child born in 2008, you can get the extra money on the 2008 return, since you now have a child that wasn't on the 2007 return. But if your 2007 return had some other qualifying child, that is not on the 2008 return, the calculations will wash out.

The worksheet simply directed us to look at the number of qualifying children, and then look at how much of a rebate was received during the prior year.

If they plug the hole to stop the double-dipping, it will be by taking the aggregate amount of the rebate, without breaking it down into the "regular" rebate and the "qualifying child" rebate.

But that will have other consequences...

LMAO

[Lion]

Two Weeks

The IRS published a schedule for rebates by check and by direct deposit for returns filed by 15 April. For returns after, they say the rebate will arrive about two weeks after the regular refund or after the return is processed. End date of 31 December for sending rebates. IRS suggests filing by 15 October to make sure of being in those last deposits/mailings of rebates. Otherwise, take the credit on 2008 return in 2009. See their web site. It changes often.