rosebud*
02-08-2008, 02:55 PM
found this..
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/stimulus-package-means-you/story.aspx?guid=76E54831-A58D-42A6-9A35-98D327C037D4&dist=SecMostRead
No limit on child rebate means family with four children could enjoy $2,400
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- After much debate on how much money to dole out to Americans in a fiscal stimulus package, Congress decided some taxpayers, older Americans, and veterans should receive hundreds -- in some cases thousands -- of dollars in the mail as soon as possible.
The final $152 billion package looks much like a House bill passed last week, though Americans who live solely on Social Security benefits as well as disabled veterans would also receive a rebate under the new bill. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law quickly. See full story. (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/congress-passes-150-billion-stimulus/story.aspx?guid=%7B8467FCAD%2D482F%2D4A0A%2D9C05%2D8C1CD3BE7452%7D)
Under the bill, individuals with adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 would be eligible for a rebate up to $600, while married couples filing jointly with an AGI up to $150,000 would receive up to $1,200. After those income levels, the rebates start phasing out.
http://www.marketwatch.com/newsimages/util/pixel.gif
Taxpayers with children would receive an additional $300 per child, with no limit on the number of child-based rebates. That means a family with four children could enjoy up to $2,400, and a family with two kids could receive up to $1,800.
The definition of a child is the same as the definition used for the regular child tax credit: A qualifying child is someone under age 17 living with the taxpayer for more than half of 2007.
Meanwhile, workers who don't earn enough to pay income tax but have earned income of at least $3,000 would be eligible for $300, or $600 for couples filing jointly. Surveys suggest consumers are likely to save their rebate check. See full story. (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/americans-say-they-pay-down/story.aspx?guid=%7BA821745F%2D2CB3%2D40BC%2DA6AF%2D7329BF9BE714%7D)
The bill extends rebate checks to "at least 20 million American seniors living on Social Security and to 250,000 disabled veterans" people left out of the earlier House bill, according to a release from the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
The rebates would be based on taxpayers' 2007 tax returns. Those who file extensions or file late would likely receive their checks later than regular filers, a U.S. Treasury spokesman said last week. The checks will be sent out automatically; taxpayers don't need to apply.
Business perks
Businesses also get a benefit, in the form of a carrot encouraging them to buy more equipment such as computers, tractors and tools. The bill almost doubles the value of the Section 179 expense perk, allowing businesses to deduct as much as $250,000 of qualified expenses in 2008, with the phase-out threshold for that perk rising to $800,000.
Before, the deduction was limited to $128,000 worth of expenses in 2008 and the phase-out was $510,000. Also, the stimulus package makes the business depreciation provision more valuable, allowing a company to depreciate an additional 50% of the cost of an asset bought in 2008.
Timeline
Once President Bush signs the bill, it will take about two months for the IRS to start sending out checks if things go well. The timing of the stimulus package means the tax agency will be addressing this issue during the busiest time of the regular filing season.
"Checks will start going out 60 days after the legislation is enacted. It will take approximately 10 weeks to issue all of the checks. There might be delays on both because of the two weeks at the end of the filing season that are very high traffic for the IRS," said Andrew DeSouza, a spokesman with the U.S. Treasury, in an email message after the House passed its initial bill last week.
Meanwhile, taxpayers who file an extension or file late would receive their rebate later than regular filers, but would get their checks "by the end of the year," DeSouza said.
Others agreed IRS delays are possible. "It's a question of the IRS gearing up to get these checks out, and the IRS doesn't gear up very quickly to do things like that. They're in the middle of return filing season right now, which has already been delayed from legislation in December," said Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst with CCH Inc., a Riverwoods, Ill., tax publisher, after the House bill passed last week.
Nuts and bolts
The rebates are tied to a reduction of the 10% bracket from 10% to zero for the first $6,000 of taxable income in 2008, Luscombe said.
"I guess they need some legal basis to give a rebate check so that's what they came up with," he said. "That would be tied to the 2008 return. That's similar to (the 2001 tax rebate), so basically you would reflect the rebate check as sort of a prepayment on your 2008 return."
The rebate is not taxable at the federal level, and it's unlikely the states would tax it, though that's not entirely clear at this point.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/stimulus-package-means-you/story.aspx?guid=76E54831-A58D-42A6-9A35-98D327C037D4&dist=SecMostRead
No limit on child rebate means family with four children could enjoy $2,400
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- After much debate on how much money to dole out to Americans in a fiscal stimulus package, Congress decided some taxpayers, older Americans, and veterans should receive hundreds -- in some cases thousands -- of dollars in the mail as soon as possible.
The final $152 billion package looks much like a House bill passed last week, though Americans who live solely on Social Security benefits as well as disabled veterans would also receive a rebate under the new bill. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law quickly. See full story. (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/congress-passes-150-billion-stimulus/story.aspx?guid=%7B8467FCAD%2D482F%2D4A0A%2D9C05%2D8C1CD3BE7452%7D)
Under the bill, individuals with adjusted gross income of up to $75,000 would be eligible for a rebate up to $600, while married couples filing jointly with an AGI up to $150,000 would receive up to $1,200. After those income levels, the rebates start phasing out.
http://www.marketwatch.com/newsimages/util/pixel.gif
Taxpayers with children would receive an additional $300 per child, with no limit on the number of child-based rebates. That means a family with four children could enjoy up to $2,400, and a family with two kids could receive up to $1,800.
The definition of a child is the same as the definition used for the regular child tax credit: A qualifying child is someone under age 17 living with the taxpayer for more than half of 2007.
Meanwhile, workers who don't earn enough to pay income tax but have earned income of at least $3,000 would be eligible for $300, or $600 for couples filing jointly. Surveys suggest consumers are likely to save their rebate check. See full story. (http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/americans-say-they-pay-down/story.aspx?guid=%7BA821745F%2D2CB3%2D40BC%2DA6AF%2D7329BF9BE714%7D)
The bill extends rebate checks to "at least 20 million American seniors living on Social Security and to 250,000 disabled veterans" people left out of the earlier House bill, according to a release from the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.
The rebates would be based on taxpayers' 2007 tax returns. Those who file extensions or file late would likely receive their checks later than regular filers, a U.S. Treasury spokesman said last week. The checks will be sent out automatically; taxpayers don't need to apply.
Business perks
Businesses also get a benefit, in the form of a carrot encouraging them to buy more equipment such as computers, tractors and tools. The bill almost doubles the value of the Section 179 expense perk, allowing businesses to deduct as much as $250,000 of qualified expenses in 2008, with the phase-out threshold for that perk rising to $800,000.
Before, the deduction was limited to $128,000 worth of expenses in 2008 and the phase-out was $510,000. Also, the stimulus package makes the business depreciation provision more valuable, allowing a company to depreciate an additional 50% of the cost of an asset bought in 2008.
Timeline
Once President Bush signs the bill, it will take about two months for the IRS to start sending out checks if things go well. The timing of the stimulus package means the tax agency will be addressing this issue during the busiest time of the regular filing season.
"Checks will start going out 60 days after the legislation is enacted. It will take approximately 10 weeks to issue all of the checks. There might be delays on both because of the two weeks at the end of the filing season that are very high traffic for the IRS," said Andrew DeSouza, a spokesman with the U.S. Treasury, in an email message after the House passed its initial bill last week.
Meanwhile, taxpayers who file an extension or file late would receive their rebate later than regular filers, but would get their checks "by the end of the year," DeSouza said.
Others agreed IRS delays are possible. "It's a question of the IRS gearing up to get these checks out, and the IRS doesn't gear up very quickly to do things like that. They're in the middle of return filing season right now, which has already been delayed from legislation in December," said Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst with CCH Inc., a Riverwoods, Ill., tax publisher, after the House bill passed last week.
Nuts and bolts
The rebates are tied to a reduction of the 10% bracket from 10% to zero for the first $6,000 of taxable income in 2008, Luscombe said.
"I guess they need some legal basis to give a rebate check so that's what they came up with," he said. "That would be tied to the 2008 return. That's similar to (the 2001 tax rebate), so basically you would reflect the rebate check as sort of a prepayment on your 2008 return."
The rebate is not taxable at the federal level, and it's unlikely the states would tax it, though that's not entirely clear at this point.