Qualifications

• All those who filed their income taxes prior to April 15, 2008 and had more than a zero tax liability while also claiming at least $3,000 in 2007 income typically qualified for the federal tax rebate. Some who specifically did not qualify were illegal immigrants, dependents on their parents' tax returns or those with invalid Social Security numbers.
  In addition, in 2009, a one-time payment was made to retirees, disabled individuals, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, disabled veterans and railroad-retirement beneficiaries.
  
  

Rebate amounts

• Single taxpayers qualified for a $600 tax rebate, while married couples received $1,200. In addition, parents received $300 for each child under the age of 18 (as of Dec. 31, 1990). There was no limit on the child rebate. The additional rebate in 2009 for $250 went to retirees, disabled individuals, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, disabled veterans and railroad retirement beneficiaries because these individuals mostly did not qualify under the 2008 tax rebate.
  
  

Distribution

• About $120 million in tax rebates were issued by direct deposit or check between April and July 2008. The distribution occurred once a week and was based on the last four digits of your Social Security number. As with any large-scale financial distribution, some errors were made. The IRS managed to correct all complaints before the end of 2008 by sending the rebate out again or fixing mistakes in the amount of distributed to an individual or family.
  
  

Scams

• During the stimulus distribution, scam artists set up email or telephone campaigns claiming to be federal agents and needing more information from a person to distribute the rebate check. Some people fell victim to identity theft. The IRS did issue warnings stating that none of their agents would be contacting anyone to get more contact information as rebates were distributed based on 2007 tax return information.
  
  

Impact and future rebates

• A survey by University of Michigan researchers showed that roughly only $31 billion, or 20 percent of the $152 million in stimulus rebates, was spent on new products or services. In the survey, 50 percent of those who responded said they put the money in savings while the other 30 percent said they used it to pay off credit-card debts. Many economists agreed that the rebate did not give the economy the boost that was desired by the plan. As of August 2009, President Obama and some members of Congress have discussed a second rapid-income-tax-relief rebate, but due to the increase in federal spending through bailouts for banks and automakers, another rebate is unlikely.