Why is my tax rebate so small?
Posted
May 12 2008, 04:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
The government giveth, and the government taketh away, given the opportunity. You might want to keep that in mind when you're wondering why your economic-stimulus check is smaller than you thought it would be.
Kay Bell, the author of our favorite tax blog, Don't Mess With Taxes, explains: "If you owe the IRS federal taxes from previous tax years or have ignored a variety of nonfederal debts you owe, Uncle Sam can take those uncollected amounts out of any federal money you might be due."
Those debts can include past-due child support, state income tax and student loan payments.
"Unfortunately, some folks who perhaps haven't filed for ages but decided to do so this year just to get the rebate might find they opened up a can of tax and other debt worms," Kay adds.
Want to know more? Kay provides links to numerous IRS Web sites, including one that explains how the so-called Treasury Offset Program works, and a new IRS FAQs page about the rebate that explains, among other things, why you haven't gotten your rebate yet even though the date you were supposed to get it has already come and gone. You can access the rebate calculator here.
