What you need to know about tax stimulus payments

Fellow Gate City Rotarian and helpful friend Darlene Leonard, C.P.A., of Smith Leonard, PLLC, shared this important heads up:

If you have elderly friends or relatives, let them know that they will need to file a tax return for 2007 in order to be eligible for the stimulus refund payment of $300 for individuals or $600 for a couple.

To be sure there are many elderly folks out there who do not file a return simply because they are only receiving social security benefits or have minimal income.

But they won’t get their stimulus refund payments unless they file a tax return. And unless someone like you tells them, they’re not likely to know, so here’s what you need to know:

If you normally don't have to file a tax return but have enough in qualifying income to receive a stimulus payment, more information is available in Fact Sheet 2008-16. If you qualify, all you need to do is fill out Form 1040A in a few places. A sample version of Form 1040A illustrates which lines to fill out. Click this link for a 2007 Form 1040-A (PDF) U.S. Individual Income Tax Return and click this link for instructions 2007 Inst 1040-A (PDF) Instructions. Pretty easy, huh?

Now hear this: The only guarantee I can make is that my Chief Compliance Officer will totally freak out if I do not make the following disclosure, so here goes:

Neither Jonathan Smith & Co. nor any of it’s employees (this writer included) is qualified to give tax advice, therefore nothing in or about this message, including any external internet links, shall be construed as tax advice, or for that matter, investment advice. If you need assistance, for goodness sakes, you should contact a qualified tax professional. Like the warning label on my father's chainsaw, Do Not Sharpen Saw While Motor Running, you could get hurt and you could hurt someone else if you don't know what you're doing.