167,000 Ga. retirees, veterans yet to file for rebate

ATLANTA - The Internal Revenue Service is reaching out to retirees and veterans who qualify for the economic stimulus payment but have not filed the 2007 federal income tax returns necessary to receive them.

New statistics indicate about 74 percent of these individuals in Georgia have filed for their rebates. However, there are still more than 167,000 potential recipients remaining in Georgia who have yet to file - nearly 15,000 of them in the immediate Gainesville area. (See table below).

"We want to make sure every Georgian who is eligible to receive an economic stimulus payment files a return so they can receive their money," IRS Spokesperson Mark S. Green said.

Recipients of certain benefits from Social Security and Veterans Affairs who do not normally have a requirement to file a tax return must file a tax return before Oct. 15 of this year to receive their stimulus payments. The stimulus payment is not taxable and should have no impact on other federal benefits currently being received. Unless an individual has other filing requirements, filing a tax return to receive a stimulus payment does not mean that retirees will have to start filing tax returns again.

Later this summer, the IRS will send these retirees and veterans a special letter explaining stimulus payment eligibility and how to claim it. The letter will include a sample tax form and an actual tax form that people can complete and mail to the IRS. This will be the second special mailing to reach those individuals.

Additionally, the IRS is working with members of Congress, state and local officials and national partners such as AARP, the National Council on Aging, United Way of America and the National Disability Institute to continue its extensive outreach efforts to the retiree and veterans' communities through the summer. The IRS will take the lead in coordinating face-to-face free tax preparation sessions with the help of local community partners at locations where these individuals live, work and socialize such as senior housing, Veterans Affairs hospitals and assisted living facilities.

Green says the bottom line is: if you had any retirement income last year and have not filed a 2007 federal income tax return, contact the IRS.

In the immediate Gainesville area, there are 14,884 retirees and veterans eligible for rebate checks who have not filed for them:

Gwinnett County 6,083 retirees and veterans
Hall County 2,652
Jackson County 1,301
Forsyth County 1,186
Barrow County 999
Habersham County 662
White County 631
Banks County 516
Lumpkin County 472
Dawson County 382

...

On the Net: Internal Revenue Service. http://www.irs.gov