Economic Stimulus Act of 2008

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 was an Act of Congress providing for several kinds of economic stimuli intended to boost the United States economy in 2008 and to avert a recession, or ameliorate economic conditions. The stimulus package was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 29, 2008, and in a slightly different version by the U.S. Senate on February 7, 2008. The Senate version was then approved in the House the same day. It was signed into law on February 13, 2008 by President Bush with the support of a majority of Democratic lawmakers, as well as a minority of Republicans. The law provides for tax rebates to low- and middle-income U.S. taxpayers, tax incentives to stimulate business investment, and an increase in the limits imposed on mortgages eligible for purchase by government-sponsored enterprises (e.g., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). The total cost of this bill was projected at $152 billion for 2008.

Tax rebates
Tax rebates created by the law will be paid to individual U.S. taxpayers during 2008. Most taxpayers below the income limit will receive a rebate of at least $300 per person ($600 for married couples filing jointly). Eligible taxpayers will receive, along with their individual payment, $300 per dependent child under the age of 17. The payment will be equal to the payer's net income tax liability, but will not exceed $600 (for a single person) or $1200 (married couple filing jointly). Net liability can be found in these locations:
 * Form 1040: line 57 plus line 52
 * Form 1040A: line 35 plus line 32
 * Form 1040EZ: line 10

Those with no net tax liability will still be eligible to receive a rebate, provided they meet minimum qualifying income of $3,000 per year. Rebates will be phased out for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes greater than $75,000 ($150,000 for couples filing jointly) in 2007. For taxpayers with incomes greater than $75,000, rebates will be reduced at a rate of 5% of the income above this limit. Individuals who are claimed as dependents by another taxpayer are not eligible for the rebates.

The $3,000 of qualifying income includes earned income (e.g., wages, self-employment income, Social Security), however Supplemental Security Income does not count as qualifying income for the stimulus payment. Also, low-income workers are required to file a return to receive the payment, even if they would not be required to file for income tax purposes.

Some taxpayers who exceed the income limits, but have qualifying children, will still get a rebate. For example, a single parent whose 2007 adjusted gross income was $90,000, pays more than $600 in 2007 taxes and has two qualifying children will receive a rebate of $450. The IRS adds together a $600 rebate for the parent and $600 for the two children to get $1,200, then subtracts the phaseout reduction of $750 ($50 for each $1,000 income above $75,000) to get $450.

According to the IRS, the stimulus payment will not reduce taxpayers' 2008 refunds or increase the amount owed when filing 2008 returns.

The payment schedule is based on whether the taxpayer's 2007 tax return listed direct deposit information as well as the last two digits of the social security number of the tax return's main filer, with direct deposits being sent between May 2 and May 16 (the payments will be listed on the taxpayer's bank statement as "US TREASURY 220 TAX REFUND"), and paper checks being sent between May 16 and July 11. On April 25, 2008, President Bush announced that the rebates will start going out on April 28, 2008 and the paper checks will be sent out starting on March 28, earlier than previously announced by the IRS.

Taxpayers who used direct deposit for their refunds will receive the stimulus payment that same way, provided they have not done any of these things: If any of these scenarios apply, the payment will be sent as a paper check through U.S. mail.
 * Taken out a refund anticipation loan or "rapid refund";
 * Used a service such as TurboTax and had the transmission fees taken out of the refund amount;
 * Had their refund deposited across two accounts;
 * Allowed their tax preparer (such as a CPA) to deduct their fee from the refund amount.

Rationale
As 2008 began, economic indicators suggested an increased risk of recession. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before Congress that quick action was needed to stimulate the economy through targeted government spending and tax incentives. Congress moved rapidly to pass such legislation. In passing the legislation, lawmakers aimed to stimulate spending by businesses and consumers during 2008. They hoped that the targeted individual tax rebates would boost consumer spending and that targeted tax incentives would boost business spending.

Lawmakers raised the limits on conforming mortgages eligible for government insurance and GSE purchase in response to the subprime mortgage crisis. This crisis had resulted in a widespread credit crunch by late 2007. The credit crunch led to a reluctance by lenders to issue so-called jumbo mortgages for the purchase of houses that exceeded the FHA and GSE limits. The United States housing bubble had pushed house prices above those limits in many areas of the country. As interest rates rose for jumbo mortgages, fewer buyers could afford them, and house prices were being forced down toward the limits for conforming mortgages. By raising those limits, lawmakers hoped to slow or halt the decline in house prices, which threatened the financial well-being of homeowners, banks and other financial entities holding jumbo mortgages.

The FHA loan limits also went up with the stimulus package on March 6. The loan limit package is called "FHA Forward."

Impact
One study compared the spending patterns of households that received their stimulus payments early on with the spending of patterns of households who had not yet received their payments. The researchers found that the stimulus checks increased spending by 3.5%. The study suggests that the rebate payments were an effective stimulus despite the predictions of certain economic theories such as the permanent income hypothesis.

Immigration Restrictions
Taxpayers who filed their returns jointly are not eligible for payment if any of the persons on the tax return filed with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a social security number. For example, if a family of five had one parent with an ITIN, no money is payable to any member of the family, including US citizens with valid social security numbers. The rule was added after the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) lobbied the Senate for the change. The amendment was proposed by Senator John Ensign of Nevada.

As a result, many legal resident aliens and overseas military families will not receive any payment. US citizens who will not receive payments include those who file a joint tax return for 2007 and include an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, on the document. In this case the entire family will be ineligible for the economic stimulus rebate President Bush announced earlier this year. US citizens may amend their tax returns to file separately, but in most cases this results in a lower deduction for dependents, thereby canceling any benefit from the stimulus payment. In many cases, it is better to forgo the stimulus payment than to file an amended tax return. At least one million legal residents and tens of thousands of troops were affected by the law, which was designed to keep illegal immigrants from getting stimulus checks.