Does a person have to pay income tax on the Economic Tax Incentive Checks received this year?

Question

Does a person have to pay income tax on the Economic Tax Incentive Checks received this year?

Answer 1

No.

It's not taxable.  There will be a worksheet on the 2008 tax return asking if you already received the rebate (you only get the money once)--this is to give people who didn't get it this year a 2nd chance to qualify.  In the past, this worksheet has confused people into thinking they are paying the money back.

Answer 2

No, it is not taxable or refundable.

For information on stimulus tax rebate read: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/02/are-...  

Answer 3

www.irs.gov

Answer 4

Jack,

Good question. At present this payment is considered an advance payment.  The IRS claims that you will not have  to pick this up as income in a future period or as an additional tax on your 2008 return.

In general , refunds from the IRS are not considered income. Refunds from the states are, only if you itemize and get an income tax benefit from it.