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Posted by rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp on April 12, 2008, 9:21 pm
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I know an elderly couple who are living on their social security income
and SSI (the husband is blind). They are also receiving food stamp
assistance.
They were told (by who-knows-whom) not to bother filing to get a
stimulus check, because they can't be eligible if they receive food
stamps. I suspect they've received bad advice, and have offered to do
the work-up for them, once they can get me their SSA-1099 info.
While I'm waiting for that info, has anyone here heard anything relevant
on this matter? It sure seems to me that between minimum $3,000 of SS
benefits for stimulus rebate eligibility and the maximum income limit
for food stamp eligibility, there is likely to be a pretty large gap. No?
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Posted by Paul Thomas on April 12, 2008, 10:10 pm
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"rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp.org" wrote.
>I know an elderly couple who are living on their social security income and
>SSI (the husband is blind). They are also receiving food stamp assistance.
>
> They were told (by who-knows-whom) not to bother filing to get a stimulus
> check, because they can't be eligible if they receive food stamps. I
> suspect they've received bad advice, and have offered to do the work-up
> for them, once they can get me their SSA-1099 info.
>
> While I'm waiting for that info, has anyone here heard anything relevant
> on this matter?
That's news to me. Did you look to see what it says on the IRS website?
I'd prepare and file their return in any event.
--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia
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Posted by Elle on April 12, 2008, 11:15 pm
Please log in for more thread options "rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp.org"
>I know an elderly couple who are living on their social
>security income and SSI (the husband is blind). They are
>also receiving food stamp assistance.
SSI is also the acronym for "Supplemental Security Income."
It so happens that Supplemental Security Income does not
count as qualifying income for purposes of the stimulus tax
rebate. I wonder if the confusion is arising because
Supplemental Security Income is administered via the Social
Security Administration, and many web sites talk about how
Social Security benefits count as qualifying income. But not
SSI; one has to read the fine print.
Food stamps have nothing to do with it, at least not
directly. Record the SSA-1099 amount per the instructions at
the IRS web site to get the stimulus rebate, assuming they
have at least $3k of SSA-1099 social security income. See
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=177937,00.html
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Posted by Condor on April 13, 2008, 10:48 am
Please log in for more thread options > They were told (by who-knows-whom) not to bother filing to get a stimulus
> check, because they can't be eligible if they receive food stamps. I
> suspect they've received bad advice, and have offered to do the work-up
> for them, once they can get me their SSA-1099 info.
Whatever the source of the above misinformation, the elderly food stamp
recipients may have been intimidated into thinking that they risk losing
their public assistance benefits if they file for the stimulus payment.
Section 101(d) of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 says the stimulus
payments do not affect eligibility for public assistance benefits.
=========
begin quoted text
(d) Refunds Disregarded in the Administration of Federal Programs and
Federally Assisted Programs- Any credit or refund allowed or made to any
individual by reason of section 6428 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
(as amended by this section) or by reason of subsection (c) of this section
shall not be taken into account as income and shall not be taken into
account as resources for the month of receipt and the following 2 months,
for purposes of determining the eligibility of such individual or any other
individual for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits
or assistance, under any Federal program or under any State or local program
financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
end quoted text
==========
Condor
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Posted by Mark Bole on April 13, 2008, 10:55 am
Please log in for more thread options rlsusenet@NOSPAMPUHLEEZschnapp.org wrote:
> I know an elderly couple who are living on their social security income
> and SSI (the husband is blind). They are also receiving food stamp
> assistance.
>
> They were told (by who-knows-whom) not to bother filing to get a
> stimulus check, because they can't be eligible if they receive food
> stamps. I suspect they've received bad advice, and have offered to do
> the work-up for them, once they can get me their SSA-1099 info.
I encountered an almost identical situation, except it was the wife who
was blind. Do you have to wait for an official 1099-SSA? If you call
the 1-800 number for SSA and plow through the voice prompts to get to a
real operator, they can provide the 2007 reported amount over the phone.
Alternately, if you can see the monthly direct deposit amounts from bank
statements, and distinguish between the SSI and the regular SS benefits
(in my case, it was easy to see which was which), that would be adequate
for the tax return as long as it is at least $3K.
The IRS instructions to which Elle provided a link (k1040a3.pdf)
specifically state you can estimate the amount from monthly payments
plus anything withheld for Medicare).
-Mark Bole
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<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
<< The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
<< nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
<< that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
<< >>
<< The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
<< to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
<< are at www.asktax.org. >>
<< Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. >>
<< ------------------------------------------------------- >>
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