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Week of May 16, 2008 • Issue No. 004
This Week in the iNews:
▲ 2008 Economic Stimulus Act Payments
▲ TECH TIP WEEKLY: Connecting to a Bluetooth Device from MS Windows
▲ 2008 Economic Stimulus Act Payments
As millions of
Americans begin receiving their economic stimulus payments, the Internal
Revenue Service released a list of the most-frequently-asked questions
–– and answers –– that people now are asking.
Many people have questions about the stimulus payments, and the IRS has
the answers available on the IRS.gov Web site. The stimulus payments
are automatic for eligible taxpayers who filed a 2007 tax return, and
taxpayers do not need to take any additional action to receive the
payment.
Stimulus payments started going out last week, and the initial round of
payments will continue on a weekly basis through mid-July. In all,
nearly 130 million payments will go out this year. Last week, 7.7
million payments were direct deposited, and the first mass production of
paper checks begins Thursday.
Since the payments began, the IRS has been fielding a variety of
questions centered on the payment schedule, factors affecting direct
deposit of payments, eligibility requirements and questions about the
payment amounts. The IRS today released an updated set of Frequently
Asked Questions covering everything from when someone can expect the
payment to whether it will be delivered electronically or on paper.
These Frequently Asked Questions can be found at IRS.gov.
The most common
question has been when people can expect their payments. Economic
stimulus payments will be issued according to the last two-digits of the
taxpayer’s Social Security number. For joint filers the payments will go
out based on the last two digits of the Social Security number of the
person listed first on the return. Payments will be made by either
direct deposit or paper check, based generally on the option people
chose when they filed their 2007 tax returns.
Economic stimulus payments will be issued according to the last
two-digits of the main filer's Social Security number. For joint filers,
the payments will go out based on the person listed first on the return.
Payments will be made by either direct deposit or paper check,
consistent with how people filed their 2007 tax return.
People who use direct deposit also will be among the first to receive the payments starting April 28. Direct deposits will be made daily and completed on the dates listed below. Payments should be received by close of business on the dates listed below.
The payment schedule below is for people who filed early enough to have their tax returns processed by April 15.
|
Last two SSN digits: |
Payments will be transmitted no later than (and received by the end of the day of): |
|
00 through 20 |
May 2 |
|
21 through 75 |
May 9 |
|
76 through 99 |
May 16 |
Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks.
Please allow additional delivery time, perhaps 3 to 5 days, since the paper checks are being sent through the mail.
People who file a return after April 15 will receive their economic stimulus payment, but probably later than the schedule shows. A return must be filed by October 15 in order to receive a stimulus payment this year. See the online calculator for an estimate of the amount you will receive.
A small percentage of tax returns will require additional time to process and to compute a stimulus payment amount. For these returns, stimulus payments may not be issued in accordance with the schedule above, even if the tax return was processed by April 15.
|
Last two SSN digits: |
Payments will be mailed no later than (and received a few days after): |
|
00 through 09 |
May 16 |
|
10 through 18 |
May 23 |
| 19 through 25 |
May 30 |
|
26 through 38 |
June 6 |
|
39 through 51 |
June 13 |
|
52 through 63 |
June 20 |
|
64 through 75 |
June 27 |
|
76 through 87 |
July 4 |
|
88 through 99 |
July 11 |
▲ TECH TIP WEEKLY: Connecting to a Bluetooth Device from MS Windows
Bluetooth is a low-frequency wireless networking protocol designed for communication between devices such as keyboards, mice headsets, GPS antennae, and Pocket PCs (PDAs). Bluetooth signals have a maximum range of 10 meters (33 feet) or less.
If your MS Windows PC doesn’t already have built-in Bluetooth, you can obtain a Bluetooth adapter. The device should be compatible with your computer and easy to install. Follow the device’s instructions to install the drive software.
Follow the steps to connect to a Bluetooth device from MS Windows by double-clicking on My Bluetooth Places desktop icon or the Bluetooth icon in the system tray or the Bluetooth program listing in Start, All Programs.