Q: Yes. I got an answer fom the IRS. Your specific info on the "Where's my stimulus check" calculator will only show up once the IRS has it scheduled for deposit. It shows up fine now. Nope... no back tax issues here :) It says I shoud have it by Thursday. Submitted 05/08/08 14:30:00 by Melissa from Pinckney, MI. Q I just checked the IRS "Where's My Stimulus Payment? " calcualtor and after I entered my ssn, filing status, and expemptions it said "We are sorry. Specific information about your Stimulus payment is not available." The last 2 digits are 73, so I should receive it by tomorrow???? Am I in trouble? Shouldn't it say the deposit is in progress? I am on hold w/ the IRS for the last 14 minutes..... Answered 05/12/08 14:05:06 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh A: Hard to answer your question. I suspect if they had no specific information then there were other factors at work. Either a back-tax issue or something like that. Did you ever get an answer after being on hold?

Submitted by Melissa from PInckney

A: Great news. Thanks for updating us. Out of curiousity, since you got it so quickly, I presume you filed electronically and received your rebate electronically. You did your own taxes right, not with a tax preparer?

Answered 05/12/08 14:36:32 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I just checked the IRS "Where's My Stimulus Payment? " calcualtor and after I entered my ssn, filing status, and expemptions it said "We are sorry. Specific information about your Stimulus payment is not available." The last 2 digits are 73, so I should receive it by tomorrow???? Am I in trouble? Shouldn't it say the deposit is in progress? I am on hold w/ the IRS for the last 14 minutes.....

Submitted by Melissa from Pinckney, MI

A: Hard to answer your question. I suspect if they had no specific information then there were other factors at work. Either a back-tax issue or something like that. Did you ever get an answer after being on hold?

Answered 05/12/08 14:05:06 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: We filed our taxes rapid and received a rapid refund check the next day. We didnt do it Direct Deposit and the last of the ss# is 69 How would we get our rebate threw mail or will it be little faster since we did it Rapid ? Thanks

Submitted by Amy from Cullman Al

A: I don't believe the rapid refund will speed it up, but I could be wrong. As explained to me, those who filed electronically with direct deposit are at the front of the line, those who filed paper returns will get there checks later. A quick check of the IRS website suggests yours will come by June 27. If you get it faster and we have been told wrong info, let us know so we can alert others.

Answered 05/12/08 13:48:54 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: we both work and filed our taxes jointly. I have recieved my tax rebate but only recieved $600.00. We make less than $40,000 a yr. Did I do anything wrong or did I received the right amount?

Submitted by Tony from Oklahoma city, OK

A: It's hard to say without knowing the specifics, but the amount you get back is tied to the amount you earn. But it just a question of your income but also your deductions etc that get you to your adjusted gross income, so there is no blanket form that tells you exactly what you are getting back. I'd suggest you go to the IRS website and try their rebate calculator, punching in the same info you did on your tax return and see if the calculator gives you a different sum that what you received. if so, then you need to check with the IRS.

Answered 05/12/08 13:46:06 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: if the noncustodial parent owes back child support when will the custodial parent receive stimulus check

Submitted by tracy crossfield from new madrid missouri

A: That's too detailed a question for me to answer. That you'll have to ask the IRS yourself. I know if someone owes, their rebates may be diverted, whether it is owing to the IRS or child support. But as to the timing, sorry but we can't be of much help.

Answered 05/12/08 13:44:00 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Me and my wife filed a joint 2007 tax return. We did not e-file we sent a 1040 thrugh the mail but we had it direct deposited. When should I Recieve my Payment will it be a Check or Direct Deposit????

Submitted by Bob Smith from Lexington, ky

A: my understanding is if you filed by mail, regardless of whether you were receiving your refund elecontrically, then you should expect the check by mail. I havent been able to get a lot of answers out of the IRS but that was my understanding when this was all first announced

Answered 05/12/08 13:41:50 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Is it true that, Our Economy can be improved by providing Goods and Services to Third World Country's?If so,how?

Submitted by Nelson Martinez from Hialeah,Fl.

A: Proponents of free trade see the next wave of opportunity in the export of U.S. knowhow, consulting and those kinds of services. Think about our medical system, state of the art, someone will find an opportunity to teach the Chinese, Russians, Brazilians etc how to incorporate these new breakthrough technologies into their medical systems etc. But the pace of change in global trade is so swift that you can probably make the same argument that these countries will be developing breakthroughs that can be applied here. Just check out Monster.com in India and you'll see the degree to which editing of medical and scientific journals is shifting there, some basic architectural/computer-aided design work etc. To date, much of it seems complimentary so that U.S. companies can work on projects around the clock etc. At some point, you imagine it becomes more competitive. Alan Greenspan's book, final chapter, envisions a world where the pass-through benefits of cheaper labor in manufacturing in China begin to diminish and the world becomes more high cost. Others like his former Fed vice chairman Alan Blinder believe the pass-through savings from services conducted abroad -- not us providing it to the developing world -- will keep this trend of importing lower prices alive for a longer period of time. But back to the heart of your question, does providing goods to a developing nation help ours, it certainly did with Nafta and Mexico. Whatever you think about what it meant to jobs it is indisputable that trade flows increased greatly. And I'd add that there are all kinds of intangible things that come with this greater trade of flow. There are certain expectations on behavior by the governments of these countries -- Mexico can no longer just up and change rules on say the frequency of television sets to protect its domestic manufacturers --- and people in developing nations develop a set of expectations from their government and about their place in a broader world community. These benefits are often overlooked.

Answered 05/12/08 13:40:38 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: This is a housing question, specifically into forecasting the housing values in metropolitan areas. Analysts are forecasting a large increase in gas prices over the next four years or more. I read a Canadian study that oil prices could double by 2012 which could drive the price at the pump to $8 a gallon. Given that increased gas & food prices could increase pressure on families & individuals to make ends meet, foreclosures are likely to increase, especially in the suburbs & rural areas. Home inventory is already increasing almost across the board, and if our housing bubble is anything like the Japanesse Asset Bubble of 1990, prices could continue to drop for several more years. My question is this: since many people commute from suburbs into metropolitan areas, do you think that a peak in oil prices could be increase housing demand in city areas enough to make then next 1-2 years a good time to by a home in a city?

Submitted by Greg from Raliegh, NC

A: Good question, hard to say. I personally hesitate to predict such a sweeping change in two years time. There are plenty of reasons why people live in the suburbs, many of them tied to school and quality of life. If gas prices go up to $8 a gallon, it will put a world of hurt on a lot of suburban commuters, but i suspect bus service, carpooling and other things will crop up before you have an exodus back to downtown areas that lack schools, shopping and open spaces that the burbs afford. You do point righly to a potentially grim outlook where high oil prices keep inflation on the high side making the price of everything from laundry soap to anything farmed with a tractor more expensive. consumers will be strained and Alan Greenspan, in the last chapter of his book, paints a scenario of low growth and inflation naggingly high, not quite stagflation of the 70's but not the roaring 90's either. It's been good for quite a while, hard to imagine we will return to the days of free money and double and triple digit gains in home prices. we're heading into something else, just what is hard to tell.

Answered 05/12/08 13:29:38 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: If i had my tax return deposited onto an Emerald Card from HR Block does that mean my check would be deposited onto that card as well or will I be waiting for an actual check?

Submitted by Theresa from Chicago, Illinois

A: As I understand it, the tax rebate will come as a check, not depositable in any other format or through a tax preparer.

Answered 05/09/08 15:14:28 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: We have not recieved a letter about the stimulus payment.....our return posted to our bank account March 7th 2008. According to the schedule and our ss # we should get the payment by May 9th. Should we be worried that we haven't recieved a notice? Why would we not have? Our address is correct. Just getting worried that the much needed money isn't really coming!

Submitted by adrian from columbus ohio

A: I'd give it a few more days, you are not to the end of the week yet. if you dont have it by the end of the week, call the IRS hotline, which is 1-800-829-1040, and see what they say.

Answered 05/06/08 10:21:56 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: I filed my taxes at Hanson's I recieved my federal tax refund in a check the same day I filed. My State tax refund I recieved about 2 weeks later it was a direct deposit. Will my stimulus refund check be a direct deposit to sense the IRS has my direct deposit information?

Submitted by carmen jones from medford oregon

A: My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that if you used a tax preparer for your federal taxes, your check would not come electronically, but via regular mail. I will put this question to the IRS and modify the response if I am wrong but that is my understanding of how this works. Check this response today or tomorrow to see if I have amended my answer. kgh

Answered 05/06/08 10:19:48 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: If i didnt make $3000.00 will i get a $300.00 refund direct deposited to my account

Submitted by William from Millerton, PA

A: Independent of what you may or may not be getting back, you will only get an electronic refund if you filed your taxes electronically. I need to know a little more info. Did you have no earned income but did have Social Security or disability income etc. Give me a few more details, without revealing personal data, and I can better answer your question. Tell me as much as you can as to what sort of income you have, where it comes from etc

Answered 05/06/08 10:15:15 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: If the last two numbers of my social security number is 64 then when will my check be mailed out?

Submitted by mary solis-abarca from brooklyn park ,md

A: If you filed electronically, your check should be transmitted to your bank account no later than May 9 according to the IRS. If you filed a paper tax return, your check should arrive around June 27.

Answered 04/29/08 18:17:41 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Why is it so hard to figure out the answer for this economy problem and put a plan into motion? It is very simple! Go back to the drawing board. Pull out of Iraq. Spend the money we would be spending over there to open more military bases strategically around the US, preferrably near the borders. Create more Government Jobs. Stop all aliens from coming in until we got our house in order. Stop the oil companies from price gouging. They are making billions of dollars profit already -- like they need more money! Get rid of the IRS. Let the people keep their money. More money, more spending, more steady taxing. Economy thrives! Give the elderly FREE medicine over the age of 65. After the age of 70 -- no taxing at all. Stop Government wasting our tax money. Put someone in office that knows how to budget. I heard the Seminole Indians give each family a generous montly expense check. There are benefits in wealthy sharing! So, can you answer this question.... why can't someone figure it out? Catherine

Submitted by Catherine from Cooper City, Florida

A: Like much in life, everything that you've suggested as a solution involves a tradeoff. No taxation of people over 70 sounds great, but what about billionaire Warren Buffet? Shouldnt he pay taxes. And about those aliens coming in, as the boomers go into retirement starting in about 2010, we will increasingly need foreign-born labor or we'll have to come up with even more innovation in technology to automate. As for price gouging, most of the world's oil is in the hand of state governments and their state oil companies, not the private oil companies (although I don't dispute they are making a tidy profit these days) Pulling out of Iraq would surely leave more money for domestic needs -- think roads, bridges and schools -- but much of that money is borrowed and adds to the debt, so keeping spending at today's levels but diverting it from war to something else still leaves us digging a hole. On a broader level -- perhaps the right question is should we have an industrial policy. This administration, and to a great degree the one before it, believes that markets tend to produce the most efficient results. But increasingly, the growing economic powers aren't open systems like ours, think China and Russia, and there is a growing mood towards government involvement in commerce, at least to promote new clean technologies like hybrid cars. Here's an idea -- give a tax incentive for carmakers to make the electronic components used in hybrids here. Put Americans to work, reduce our reliance on imported fuel and push us down the road to a new paradigm. Just a thought.

Answered 04/29/08 18:16:14 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh

Q: Whose ssn do they go by if you filled married fililng jointly If only one person had income... They go based on the person with the income correct? and does that mean that cuts the rebate because only one person worked? I did the calculator and it says we should get back 1500 (because we have a child). So will they send out check based on the main ssn?

Submitted by bob from Palo alto ca

A: Don't hold us to it, but based on the IRS calculator, that would seem correct depending on your adjusted gross income, which is what it is based on. On the face of it, you both should receive $600 and an additional $300 for your child, providing you are under some fairly high income caps.

Answered 04/29/08 18:07:53 by Kevin Hall and Tony Pugh