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In order to determine whether you qualify for this credit, the Calculator will ask you a series of questions. It will ask you only enough information to determine how much credit you may claim, if any.
Before You Start
Have your 2008 Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040EZ available, with everything completed except for this credit. You will be entering information from one of these forms.
You will also need to know what filing status you claimed on your 2007 income tax return last year (married filing jointly, or some other filing status, such as single, or head of household).
Know the Amount of Your Economic Stimulus Payment (ESP)
Since the ESP was an advance payment of the Recovery Rebate Credit, the amount of credit you may now claim (if any) will depend on how much ESP you received.
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So, if you switched your filing status to or from Married Filing Jointly between 2007 and 2008 (or you are filing with a different spouse in 2008), be sure to enter only the portion paid to each spouse filing the 2008 return.
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If you are filing jointly this year, but your current spouse did not file jointly with you last year, then you will need to know your current spouse’s ESP as well as your own. In that case, use the How Much Was My 2008 Stimulus Payment? tool. tool twice to retrieve this amount for yourself and your spouse separately.
Continue to the Recovery Rebate Credit Calculator
Allow approximately 10-15 minutes to complete this tool.
Please answer all questions on each page.
TIP: If you did not receive at least $3,000 of qualifying income in 2008, but you did receive enough other income that you are required to file a tax return, you may be eligible for a Recovery Rebate Credit of $300 ($600 if married filing jointly) if your tax (before this credit and before the Child Tax Credit) is at least $1.
CAUTION: You cannot claim this credit if you have already received the maximum amount of the credit in the form of your Economic Stimulus Payment. So, you cannot claim the credit if:
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You received (before any reductions that paid back taxes, etc.) an Economic Stimulus Payment of $600 ($1,200 if married filing jointly) plus $300 per qualifying child, and you do not have additional qualifying children in 2008.
If you are not sure, you may use the calculator to confirm how much credit (if any) you may claim.
Your entries are anonymous and the information will be used only for the purpose of determining your eligibility and the amount of your credit. All entries are erased when you exit or start over. See the " IRS Privacy Policy" for more information.
For more information, please see the IRS Recovery Rebate Credit Information Center.
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