Here's the link to the article...

Here is a link that might be useful: Tax rebate

I'm pretty sure you need to add it to your *income* next year. It will may/or may not reduce your return. I'd rather NOT have it....we only get $96.00 back this year, I don't want to OWE THEM next year because of it. The more you make the more they take. Guess we need to start a business.

If I send it back, do you think they would take it?...and credit it to the right account? *LOL*

Gosh I hate the IRS. But I have to say this. When I met DH he owed & owed & owed. Once I was able (six years later with the help of the TSA!) to figure out what was wrong, they repaid what they took with several thousand in interest to boot!!! Heck, they even apologized!!

KAT

From this link, it "appears" that it will not have to be repaid. I'm in the same boat as you, garysgirl, and I really hope that this will be the case.

Here is a link that might be useful: another tax rebate article

Thanks for the responses! From the CNN article that aprilflower posted, it looks like it won't have to be repaid, so that's good!

I got news for you. There is no little man in the back room in the White House cranking out dollar bills. Seeing that is not the case, of course we will owe it back to the IRS, with interest!
Please understand (I don't care what the politicians promise you...)there is nothing free. Geez, if they didn't need the money, why did they take it out in the first place? We ARE in a deficit, people.
To help you understand: This rebate is like getting a loan from the bank. You get the money NOW, but you will have to pay it back & you will probably pay it back in triple amount. The government earns interest on that money, so all the interest lost in a year will have to be paid by the people. Oh wait, we are going to pay CHINA back, because we DON'T have the money. We will borrow it from China. Then we'll pay them back like mortgage payments, in triple amounts.

I would prefer to see GOOD paying, SECURE jobs in the US. STOP outsourcing & STOP importing. I think that if people would know that good paying jobs are coming with good benefits (Freagin Healthcare!) you would see a surge in the Economy like in China. Hmmm, did I say China? They must be laughing at our stupidity & greed.

It's common sense, people. Please don't be naive. The politicians will do anything & promise you anything in the election year. Some of them are promising things that they will never be able to deliver to their constituents. But people want to hear all the good things that "an inspirational" politician will give them for free. Get a grip.

A little story as to what happened to us in our state in the Governor election year. We got $200 in a rebate check from the state (we have a state tax additionally to the Federal taxes). People were ecstatic...We had to pay it back in all sorts of taxes WITH INTEREST in the following years. It was one of the worst things that the governor did. IT got him re-elected. Everybody was excited when they got the checks, but I don't need to tell you about all the cussing at the governer in the years after...

from the Msn story...

This isn't free money -- for most people
To produce this cash, Congress created a one-time tax credit to reduce taxable income for most taxpayers this year.

Normally, you wouldnÂt see that cash until the spring of 2009, when you filed your 2008 return. But Congress wants to speed that money to you now, so checks will start going out in May.

Smart Spending blog: Rebate? Bonus? One is easier to spend

Remember, this is your money you're getting back, and the rebate checks are basically an advance on your 2009 refund. When similar rebates were sent out in 2001, said tax expert Mark Luscombe, "a lot of people were upset to see their (next) refund reduced."

You do not need to add the rebate back to to your income. The key word here is rebate or refund. Since federal income taxes are never deductible like state taxes, you do not need to include them as income on your return. The rebate is just an advanced credit on your 2008 taxes. What that means is the following:

If your taxes in 2008 are 12k and you paid in 14k, you will get back 2k in 2009. To the government it will look like this:

Tax Due 12000
Rebate Credit -1200
Rebate Paid in '08 1200
Taxes Paid -14000

Refund 2000

Thus the rebate and credit is transparent to the taxpayer. My guess, it will not even be on the form. The government did it this way so that they could give you money without requiring you to pay income taxes on it.

Hope this helps.

We won't directly "repay" it next year, but its still that much more that the national debt increases. Either congress should not tax us so much in the first place, or they should keep it already and put it towards the national debt.

"Geez, if they didn't need the money, why did they take it out in the first place?"
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For decades there has been a political "need" for government to make Americans feel as helpless as possible to ensure that it will grow. Limiting financial resources through undue taxation depriving Americans of self sufficiency and self esteem is a great way to sow the seeds of dependency.

Our economy is driven not by what we produce, but by what we spend. The prevailing thought seems to be that tax cuts + borrowing + spending = prosperity.

This is nothing more than an election year bribe to make feel somewhat comfortable in re-electing these folks, yet again. It may give a small jolt through consumer spending, but IMO, for the long term health of our economy, it actually is detrimental, because we end up paying it back, plus interest.

The money should really be spent on things like infrastructure and education. Consumption on these is consumption that, for the most part, stays in the US, and definitely more so than what most of us will spend the money on.

I agree with "brewbeer" above. This is pandering to the electorate who unfortunately mostly are too stupid to realize in the long run it is bad for the economy, the country and them. If the government really wanted to give 150b away to stimulate the economy, infrastructure would be good or maybe spend some on helping us become energy independent which would have a lot of long term benefits. Giving $600 to everyone is pissing money away the government DOES NOT have.

I am leaning more towards brewbeer and msm859. This money is meant as a bandaid fix. It's not a long term fix and I don't see it being very beneficial. Most people polled here in the Savannah area say they will pay off credit first, save it second, and then a few said they'd spend it.