Q: I’m a single parent and last year paid no taxes. I received a $350 stimulus check for myself but not my daughter. Is that right?— Mickey Lucas, Cheyenne
A: The amount of stimulus payment taxpayers received was temporarily based on the 2007 income-tax return they filed in 2008.
But the actual stimulus money was for 2008, so it’s to be based on the return that you’ll file by April 15 this year. That means there can be adjustments, such as someone who received only a payment for themselves and not a child who was born last year. You can claim those changes — even if you had no income last year and then got a job to qualify for a payment — as a credit in your tax return.
Amounts varied from $300 to $600 based on income and whether you had qualifying children. Yours could be a combination of the two, depending on income amount or what you owed in tax that year or a previous one.
Everyone’s situation is different, and the IRS explained how your check amount was derived in a letter that came with the payment. Chances are you didn’t keep it, like many of us.
The quickest way to determine whether you received what you were due is to call the IRS at 800-TAX- 1040 (800-829-1040) between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. weekdays. Have a copy of your 2007 federal tax return ready, and you’ll be able to find out.
Don’t be concerned if your situation changed last year, such as getting a higher-paying job, thinking your stimulus payment could be smaller. If you got it, you keep it.
Do take the stimulus credit in your 2008 return if you are entitled to more money because of changes such as a lost job.
