Q: Why have some disabled veterans and seniors not received their Economic Stimulus Payment?
A: I have learned from the Internal Revenue Service that millions of disabled veterans and seniors who are eligible for the Economic Stimulus Payment Congress approved in February of this year have not yet filed a tax return. As a result, those people are in danger of missing out on the rebate. Many of the 20 million disabled veterans and senior citizens do not earn enough to be required to file an income tax return. In general, those with at least $3,000 of qualifying income (any combination of wages, social security benefits, and disabled veterans benefits) will qualify for the Economic Stimulus Payment even if no tax is owed. Those who owe at least $1 in tax also may qualify for the rebate, including those receiving private or public pension income. A tax return needs to be filed to claim the Economic Stimulus Payment, so it is important to make sure that non-filers who are eligible know what is needed to claim their checks. The deadline to file a tax return specifically to receive the Economic Stimulus Payment is October 15, 2008. Those who owe no tax will not be penalized for filing taxes after April 15, 2008. The Economic Stimulus Payment shouldn’t affect your eligibility for any other benefits you may receive, like Medicaid or food stamps. If you have not filed a tax return, please don’t wait until the last minute. It would be a shame to have millions of disabled veterans and senior citizens miss out on their checks.
Q: Why have military personnel with foreign born spouses been unable to received stimulus checks?
A: Current law requires that to be eligible to generate a stimulus payment, all individuals on a return must possess a valid Social Security number. However, some foreign-born spouses of military personnel have a Taxpayer Identification Number, not a Social Security number. Returns for these families are not currently eligible to receive a stimulus payment. In order to correct this situation, the House and Senate have passed the “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008,” which enables active duty military personnel to qualify for economic stimulus payments.
Q: What else is Congress doing to help fix this problem?
A: It is important to get out the word to seniors, veterans and people with disabilities that there is an Economic Stimulus Payment program and what they need to do to receive their checks. Congress is working with the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to see that outreach and educational activities continue this summer and into the fall. My staff is in contact with the IRS to help make sure that everyone entitled to receive a stimulus check receives one. My office uses information received from constituents and other Members of Congress to exercise oversight over the IRS as stimulus checks are being sent out. Recently, the IRS discovered that stimulus payments to some individuals and families with qualified children had been miscalculated after Finance Committee staff alerted IRS personnel of concerns in this area. If you have any questions, please call the Internal Revenue Service toll-free at 1-866-234-2942 or visit www.irs.gov.