The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 recently signed into law provides for rebates for many individual taxpayers, which are independent of any refund you may get or any tax you may owe on your 2007 tax return.

Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million individuals. The stimulus payments will go out through the late spring and summer.

The vast majority of Americans who qualify for the payment will not have to do anything other than file their 2007 individual income tax return to receive their payment this year. The IRS will use information on the tax return to determine eligibility and calculate the amount of the stimulus payments.

According to the IRS, determination of eligibility and payment amount for each individual will be made by the agency based exclusively on information provided on a filed 2007 income tax return. Until a 2007 tax return is filed by any eligible individual, that individual will not be sent a rebate check. Those not required to file a 2007 tax return for federal income tax purposes nevertheless must file if they wish to receive a rebate this year. That group includes those individuals with no taxable income for 2007 but having at least $3,000 in qualifying earned income, social security benefits or veteran's disability payments. These individuals should file IRS Form 1040A in order to trigger a stimulus package refund.

Note: For the examples below, you will need Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader.  

Download Instructions for Form 1040A from the IRS website  

Click here for an example of how to fill in Form 1040A       

For further information related to economic stimulus payments, visit the related IRS web page by clicking here.