Q&A on Economic Stimulus Payments

WASHINGTON As millions of Americans begin receiving their economic stimulus payments, the Internal Revenue Service released a list of the most-frequently-asked questions and answers that people now are asking. "Many people have questions about the stimulus payments, and the IRS has the answers available on the IRS.gov Web site," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. "The stimulus payments are automatic for eligible taxpayers who filed a 2007 tax return, and taxpayers do not need to take any additional action to receive the payment." Stimulus payments started going out last week, and the initial round of payments will continue on a weekly basis through mid-July. In all, nearly 130 million payments will go out this year. Last week, 7.7 million payments were direct deposited, and the first mass production of paper checks begins Thursday. Since last week millions of Americans have visited IRS.gov and called the IRS toll-free lines. The IRS reminded taxpayers the fastest way to get answers is to visit IRS.gov, which has payment schedules and other information. Since the payments began, the IRS has been fielding a variety of questions centered on the payment schedule, factors affecting direct deposit of payments, eligibility requirements and questions about the payment amounts. The IRS today released an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions covering everything from when someone can expect the payment to whether it will be delivered electronically or on paper. A link to these Frequently Asked Questions can be found at the bottom of this page. The most common question has been when people can expect their payments. Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the taxpayer's Social Security number. For joint filers the payments will go out based on the last two digits of the Social Security number of the person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check, based generally on the option people chose when they filed their 2007 tax returns. The payment schedule below is for people who filed early enough to have their tax returns processed by April 15. Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the main filer's Social Security number. For joint filers, the payments will go out based on the person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check, consistent with how people filed their 2007 tax return. People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting April 28. Direct deposits will be made daily and completed on the dates listed below. Payments should be received by close of business on the dates listed below. DIRECT DEPOSIT Last two SSN digits: Payments will be transmitted no later than (and received by the end of the day of): 00 through 20 May 2 21 through 75 May 9 76 through 99 May 16 Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks. Please allow additional delivery time, perhaps 3 to 5 days, since the paper checks are being sent through the mail. PAPER CHECK Last two SSN digits: Payments will be mailed no later than (and received a few days after): 00 through 09 May 16 10 through 18 May 23 19 through 25 May 30 26 through 38 June 6 39 through 51 June 13 52 through 63 June 20 64 through 75 June 27 76 through 87 July 4 88 through 99 July 11 People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus payment, but probably later than the schedule shows. A return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment this year. See the online calculator for an estimate of the amount you will receive. 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. If you have any questions about your payment, please call the toll-free Rebate Hotline at 1-866-234-2942.