On Feb. 13, 2008, President George Bush signed into law legislation to stimulate the economy. As a result of successful lobbying by many seniors’ groups, low-income seniors who are living primarily on their Social Security checks, Railroad Retirement benefits, veterans’ disability benefits, pension or survivor benefits are eligible for stimulus checks for the first time. 

If you pay income taxes:

You only need to file a 2007 tax return. Once the return is filed, the IRS will determine how much you are eligible to receive and send a check. Those seniors who are already required to file a return also need do nothing extra to apply for your checks. If you have already filed a 2007 return, you do not need to do anything more.

Seniors who may need to file a return:

• Persons with a gross income of more than $10,050
• Married, filing jointly, one spouse over age 65 with a gross income of more than $18,550
• Married, filing jointly, both spouses over age 65 with a gross income of more than $19,600

The maximum check authorized is $600 for individuals and $1,200 for joint filers, with an additional $300 per child for those who have dependent children. Eligibility for checks begins to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers at a rate of $50 for every $1,000 in income. Eligibility is completely phased-out for individuals with incomes of more than $87,000 and joint filers with incomes of more than $174,000.

Low-income seniors:

Low-Income seniors will receive a check for $300 for individuals and $600 for couples filing jointly, with an additional $300 each for any qualifying children. To be eligible for a stimulus check, you must have at least $3,000 of any combination of: earned income, Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, or certain veterans’ benefits (including survivors of disabled veterans). SSI does not count as qualifying income for the stimulus payment. Also not counted are dividends, interest and capital gains income or non-veterans or non-Social Security pension income (such as that from Individual Retirement Accounts).

If you have $3,000 in qualifying income you must file a tax return to be eligible to receive a check, even if you do not have enough income to otherwise be required to file. Filing a return will not affect your liability to the government in any way - it simply establishes your eligibility to receive a check. Receiving a check does not affect any other income-based benefits you may be receiving from the federal government such as food stamps, low-income heating assistance, etc.

• Low-income seniors should use Form 1040A to apply for your checks
• In the blank space at the top of Page 1 of the return, write the words “Stimulus Payment” above the title of the form
• Enter your name (both spouses if filing jointly), mailing address and Social Security numbers on the appropriate lines of the form, and include your filing status and exemption information on lines 1 through 6d of the form
• Any wages you have earned should be entered on line 7
• Your Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement or eligible Veterans benefits should be reported on Line 14a. If you do not have documentation of the exact amount you received in 2007, you may estimate your annual benefit by multiplying your monthly benefit, before deducting taxes or Medicare premiums, by the number of months you received a benefit.
• Sign and date the form

 If you have already filed a tax return showing less than $3,000 in income and did not include Social Security, Railroad Retirement or veterans benefits as part of your income, you should file a Form 1040X to list those non-taxable benefits and qualify for a check.

General Information

Valid Social Security numbers are required to receive a check. If you are married filing jointly, both spouses must have valid numbers. This is also the case for any qualifying children. If you have been issued any other identification number by the IRS such as an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN), you are not eligible to receive a check. Also ineligible are individuals who can be claimed as dependents on someone else’s return, or taxpayers who file Form 1040-NR, 1040-PR or 1040-SS.