Where, oh where is my tax-rebate check?
Posted
Jun 02 2008, 04:34 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
We're in the same boat as "PT" at Prime Time Money. Our tax-rebate check has yet to arrive.
Just like PT, we thought our rebate would be direct-deposited into our checking account on May 9, based on our Social Security number and the IRS payment schedule. So, like PT, we dug a little deeper to find out where it could be.
Since the date we expected the check has already passed, we tried the handy "Where's My Stimulus Payment" tool and got this response: "We are sorry. Specific information about your Stimulus Payment is not available." It also said this: "Specific information about your Stimulus Payment will not be available until about one week before your payment is scheduled to be sent." So we know it's not going to arrive in our account this week.
What's going on?
PT notes that the IRS site says the payment schedule applies only if the IRS processed your tax return before April 15. Also, the schedule seems to apply only if you're getting a refund. (We owed Uncle Sam, and so did PT.) The IRS says: "If you are not expecting a regular tax refund, your stimulus payment generally should arrive a minimum of six weeks after you file."
The IRS also provides yet another reason to explain why the check's not in the mail (snail or otherwise). The IRS site says: "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."
We asked one other question, and so did PT: Are we getting direct deposit or is the check coming via U.S. mail? The IRS says that if you used direct debit to pay what you owed, but didn't also provide direct-deposit information with your tax return, your economic-stimulus payment will come through the mail. Yikes. It looks like we're not getting our check until late June.
Think there may be another reason why you haven't received a payment? Read Heather Johnson's post at Tax Daddy for other possible explanations.
