By Holly Robinson, Associate Staff Director
ABA Commission on Law and Aging
The question hit the ABA Commission's Elderbar
Listserve (see below, on this page) on February 14,
2008, one day after President Bush signed the Economic
Stimulus Act of 2008 (H.R. 5140):
Will economic stimulus payments be counted as income
by particular programs?
Because of the immediacy of the listserve, the answer
came shortly thereafter. In a word: No.
The pertinent language states:
Title I-Recovery Rebates and Incentives for
Business Investment, sec. 6428, 2008 Recovery
Rebates for Individuals
(d) Refunds Disregarded in the Administration of
Federal Programs and Federally Assisted
Programs-Any credit or refund allowed or made to
any individual by reason of section 6428 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended by this
section) or by reason of subsection (c) of this section
shall not be taken into account as income and shall
not be taken into account as resources for the month
of receipt and the following 2 months, for purposes

of determining the eligibility of such individual or
any other individual for benefits or assistance, or the
amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under any
federal program or under any state or local program
financed in whole or in part with federal funds."
Filing Required to Receive Rebate
Individuals with at least $3,000 in qualifying income in 2007,
which does not include SSI benefits, must file a 2007 federal
tax return in order to get their income tax rebates. Likewise,
Social Security recipients, veterans, and retired railroad
workers who might not otherwise need to file a tax return will
also need to file a return in order to claim their rebates.
Free Tax Help Available
Individuals may be able to take advantage of thousands of
free tax preparation sites nationwide for low-income and
elderly taxpayers.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program
provides free tax help to low- and moderate-income taxpayers
with incomes generally below $40,000. The Tax
Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program provides free tax
help to people age 60 and older. In addition, AARP offers the
Tax-Aide counseling program at more than 7,000 sites
nationwide during the filing season. Call 1-800-829-1040 to
find the location, dates, and hours of the closest VITAor TCE
site. To find an AARP Tax-Aide site call 1-888-227-7669 or
visit the AARP Web site at http://www.aarp.org/money/taxaide/.
Tax Aide is developing self-help materials and suggestions
on guiding taxpayers through the process that will be
available through AARP