Try these ‘stimulus’ tax tips for seniors

There seems to be some confusion surrounding the federal government’s stimulus payment, such as who is eligible and how one goes about getting the check.

If you can answer “true” to the situations below, you can expect to receive a stimulus check if you file income taxes. If you do not ordinarily file, you must do so this year to get your payment. The following information is for you.

. All filers must have a valid Social Security number. This number will not start with a nine. If you are married, but only one of you has a valid Social Security number, the person with the number must file as a “single.”

. You cannot be claimed as a dependent by another person, which means no one else pays more than half of your total living expenses such as rent, food, clothes and so on.

. You had at least $3,000 of income in 2007. This includes work pay, Social Security, certain Railroad Retirement benefits and veterans’ disability compensation, pension or survivors’ benefits received from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

If you answered “true” to the above, read on. (Read on anyway.)

Now that you are eligible, you will need to fill out a 1040A form. You can get these forms at any IRS office, at Eastern Area Agency on Aging or possibly your library. You can also print your own from www.irs.gov.

Once you have your form, follow the steps below:

. Write “Stimulus Payment” across the top of the 1040A form and then, where it says “Label Here,” fill in your name, address and Social Security number for you and, if married, your spouse.

. In the Filing Status section of the 1040A form, check box 1 if you are single or box 2 if you are married.

. Now for the “Exemptions” section of the form, lines 6a and 6b. Check the box 6a for you and 6b for your spouse. Then write “1” if you are single or “2” if you are married in the box just to the right of this line. In the box labeled “d, total exemptions claimed,” again write, “1” if you are single and “2” if you are married.

. At the “Income” section of the 1040A form, look for line 14a, and enter the amount of money you received from Social Security in 2007 – this can be found in box 5 of your 1099 SSA Statement. If you can’t find your 1099 SSA form, you can estimate the amount by multiplying your 2007 monthly Social Security payment by 12 if you received benefits for a full year.

If you received veterans or certain railroad benefits – found in box 5 of your 1099 SSA Statement or RRB 1099, add that to your Social Security income and put the total on line 14a. Leave 14b blank.

Take note: If the numbers on lines 7 and 14a add up to less than $3,000, call the Social Security Administration or VA to get the actual yearly 2007 amount before any deductions.

There is no need to fill in other income amounts on this form.

Now, sign the “Sign Here” section, and if married, have your spouse sign, too.

Lastly, mail the form to: Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Andover, MA 05501-0099.

If you have special circumstances not mentioned here, such as a grandchild or other minor dependent living with you, call the IRS at 1-866-234-2942.

And don’t panic. You can file up until about mid-fall and have your payment processed. If this is as clear as mud, give us a call or call the IRS. Otherwise, enjoy your refund.

Carol Higgins Taylor is director of communications at Eastern Area Agency on Aging. E-mail Higgins Taylor at chtaylor@eaaa.org. For information on EAAA, call 941-2865, toll-free (800) 432-7812, e-mail info@eaaa.org or log on EAAA.org. TTY 992-0150.