from the theoretical to the mundane

[mckitterick]

Still thinking through all the great comments you made on my last post about the meaning of life (more accurately, perhaps, "the purpose of life"). I'll be making at least one follow-up soon.

Today I called the IRS and discovered, due to someone (likely someone at the IRS) not transposing an amount from one document to my 1040, that no, I won't be getting my "Stimulus Payment" this year. It'll instead be tacked on to next year's "Recovery Rebate" (did you know we were getting that?).

See, because of that error, my tax filing changed to an "amended" filing. Only the original filing determines whether or not one got the original Stimulus Payment, regardless of how much one actually made. (The IRS somehow figured that I earned in excess of $200k. Yeah.) It also meant that I didn't get my expected refund until last month.

Next year, while those of you who got your stimulus money will be getting a little bit more in the form of this Recovery Rebate from the Feds in hopes that you spend it on lasting economic progress, I'll be getting that plus the new buckies.

Thus I'll be rich next Spring, assuming I submit my taxes right away. And that neither I nor the IRS screw up again. In which case there is no such thing as a free lunch. Or two.

Chris

Comments

[renegade500.livejournal.com]

I just checked on the IRS site (because I didn't hear of this recovery rebate) and it sounds like a tax credit for 2008 is available up to $600 (for singles) if you did not get a stimulus check, since the credit is reduced by the amount of the stimulus check you got. So in my case, since I got $600 earlier this spring (which I'll admit, I used to stimulate the local economy in Denver by using it to pay my Denvention hotel bill), looks like no credit for me (based on current information, which we all know could change with a new administration).

Here's the link: http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=180800,00.html

(The IRS somehow figured that I earned in excess of $200k. Yeah.)

Meanwhile, KU must be paying much higher wages than UT! Perhaps I ought to look there again for an opportunity! ;-)