I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately about the $250 Social Security stimulus check so I thought a post would be the best way to answer all of your questions. If you’re wondering where your $250 Social Security stimulus check is, wait until June 4th before trying to contact the Social Security Administration. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 gave all social security recipients (SSI included) a one-time $250 payment, so if you are one of the 50 million individuals who get those benefits, the check is in the mail!

Who is eligible? You must be eligible for Social Security, SSI, Veterans, or Railroad Retirement benefits during November 2008, December 2008, or January 2009. If you were not eligible at that time, you will not receive the check. If you are eligible for multiple benefits, you will only receive one payment.

When and how will I receive the payment? You will get it the same way you are getting your current Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefit. If you get it by check, you’ll receive the payment as a separate check. If you get it by direct deposit, you will get it as a separate direct deposit. The government has staggered the mailing of those payments throughout May so if you haven’t received it, it’s likely in the mail or in processing. You don’t have to do anything to receive the check and the Social Security Administration will not contact you for any information.

What if it’s after June 4th and still no sign of a check or deposit? Visit the Social Security Administration’s website for the one-time economy recovery payment information page to find out who you need to contact for more information. If you just want more information, this electronic booklet about the one-time economy recovery payment is also very informative.

I’ve been getting a lot of emails about what people are calling a 2009 stimulus check, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama last month. People are confused, wondering what the stimulus check is, if it’s a tax credit, who is eligible, etc. It’s a little confusing but I think I can put it all to rest.

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Are you sitting down? Do you have a pen and paper handy? Looks like the $15,000 tax credit to buy a new home has been scrapped, saving $35 billion from the stimulus package, and replaced with an extension to the $7,500 and an increase of that credit to $8,000. The $7,500 first time homebuyer tax credit was set to expire July 1st, this $8,000 provision would extend that. CNNMoney is reporting that the credit is available for those who buy a home between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 (source).

The cost of the extension and modest increase is pegged at around $2-3 billion. Another key provision? The repayment requirement will be nixed. That means the $7,500 15-year loan at 0% interest will now become $8,000 cash money in your pocket. I believe existing borrowers would have that loan forgiven.

Home buyers who hoped for a $15,000 tax credit to buy a new home, as promised by the Senate, will be disappointed. A proposed $35 billion credit to support home sales was jettisoned in favor of a more modest $2 billion to $3 billion provision.

The proposal would eliminate the repayment requirement in an existing tax credit for first-time home buyers, and raise the credit to $8,000 from $7,500. Congressional aides cautioned Wednesday that the credit’s size was still subject to negotiation.

Congress Strikes $789 Billion Stimulus Deal [Wall Street Journal]

Update 2/12: The $15,000 provision has been replaced by an $8,000 first-time home buyer credit, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Holy schmoly… the Senate just voted and included a $15,000 tax break to homebuyers!

It was an addition that Senate Republicans wanted in order to leave “their mark” on the economic stimulus package President Obama has called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. At an estimated cost of $19 billion, the $15,000 tax credit is very much like the $7,500 tax credit given to first time homebuyers. It will be a tax credit of 10% of the value of new or existing homes, up to a $15,000 limit and everyone would be eligible, not just first-time homebuyers (defined in the previous bill as someone who hadn’t owned a home in the last three years).

From a reader:

Check out the potential big changes to this credit…increased amount to $15,00, a proposed no repayment/recapture, plus a new 5% down payment requirement. Downside is it’s not really retroactive but meant for purchases after December 31st, 2008.

Original Rules:
IRS.gov

Proposed Amendment introduced today into the economic stimulus package (two pages of Congressional record when the amendment was introduced in the Senate, February 4th, 2009):
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2009_record&page=S1493&position=all
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2009_record&page=S1494&position=all

Absolutely stunning… you almost have to buy a house now.

The Committee on Appropriations released an executive summary on the details of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Plan, the formal name for President Obama’s stimulus package, and it’s thirteen pages long with a decent level of detail. First I’ll list the high level overview then point out some of the things that might affect you. If you’re curious about a stimulus check, it’s not in there.

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1/15: The Committee on Appropriations just released the an executive summery of the details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

Obama offered some more details on the economic recovery plan he plans to put forward to Congress after the inauguration in his weekly radio address today, a program he called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

Some of the salient details were that he wanted to plan to create three million new jobs, up from 2.5 million, and to :

• double renewable energy production and make public buildings more energy efficient;
• rebuild crumbling roads, bridges and schools; computerize the health care system; modernize classrooms, labs and libraries;
• and provide tax breaks to American workers.

His advisers have estimated that the cost of the plan could be anywhere from $675 billion to $775 billion, while others expect it to be closer to $1 trillion. With how the government has been printing money lately, an extra $1 trillion, especially invested into programs that will help Americans stay employed and improve our infrastructure (rather than prop up banks and their epic failures), is better than the alternative. The question remains, will there be more pork stuffed in there or will this truly be a focused bill? We will have to see.

You can watch the address yourself (four minutes long):

Full transcript available here.

The Make Work Pay tax credit will put $400 ($800 for couples) into your pocket and was passed in the recovery and reinvestment plan.

1/15: The Committee on Appropriations just released the an executive summery of the details of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

Update 10/21: Bernanke recently endorsed a stimulus package and new life has been given to the prospects of a second stimulus package.

Update: Looks like there’s been more movement on another stimulus check. I wouldn’t hold my breath but it’s a step past campaign fodder.

The ink hasn’t even dried on the first economic stimulus checks mailed out last month and this month and there’s already talk of another stimulus package that would include a second stimulus check, tax breaks for the middle class and seniors, as well as debt relief for students. It’s the first economic salvo fired by Democratic Presidential presumptive nominee Barack Obama this week in a speech at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds [full text of that speech]. In his speech, he briefly discussed long term goals but focused on the short term ones, including a second economic stimulus check.

Second Stimulus Check: $50 Billion

The idea of a second economic stimulus check (who can say no to another stimulus check?)is obviously what most people latched onto (though there were no details in the speech itself) and it was the first thing he mentioned in the short term plan.

That’s why I’ve called for another round of fiscal stimulus, an immediate $50 billion to help those who’ve been hit hardest by this economic downturn – Americans who have lost their jobs, their homes, and are facing rising costs and cutbacks in state and local services like education and health care. We need to expand unemployment benefits and extend them for those who can’t find another job right away – especially since the long-term unemployment rate is nearly twice as high as it was during the last recession. And we must help the millions of homeowners who are facing foreclosure through no fault of their own. [Page 3 of speech]

The other things mentioned in that piece is a 13-week (or more) extension to unemployment benefits, a $10 billion Foreclosure Prevention Fund (which would include a credit of 10% of their mortgage interest payment every year), as well as changes to the mortgage industry to include a Home Score system that helps consumers compare mortgage offers and assess payback ability.

Middle Class & Senior Tax Relief

Page 5 goes into, after railing on McCain, how he’ll slash of corporate tax breaks, close tax loopholes, and begin windfall taxing oil companies to help pay for middle class tax cuts. $1,000 of relief for approximately 95% of workers and families, paid for by the windfall profits of Exxon Mobil. His plan also called for the elimination of income taxes for retirees that earn less than $50,000 a year and raising the Social Security tax cap, without changing the retirement age or privatizing Social Security.

There are several more subjects in the speech, such as a Credit Card Bill of Rights and revamping bankruptcy laws, but we’ll have to wait until next week for details on some of the more long term economic plans. Stay tuned…