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Getting your tax rebate: What you need to do

As details emerge on how the Internal Revenue Service will dole out economic stimulus payments, officials are warning that some service members and disabled veterans will get smaller payments and will have to apply for the tax rebates that will be automatic for most people.

The so-called economic stimulus recovery rebates, which the IRS expects to start paying in May, will be $600 a person and $1,200 for a couple, with an additional $300 for every minor child, for most people who filed federal tax returns in 2007.

Most taxpayers will receive two notices from the IRS before their rebate is sent, mailed to the address used when filing returns for the 2006 tax year, which most people filed in early 2007. The initial notice will explain eligibility and the second will state when a rebate can be expected, which will not be the same for all taxpayers.

Those who have moved since filing their 2006 taxes — which could include many military families — should make sure they have notified the U.S. Postal Service of their change of address and should notify the IRS by filing Form 8822, IRS officials said in a statement.

IRS spokesman Michael Devine said special efforts are being made to warn disabled veterans whose only income is tax-free disability compensation, and service members whose only income in 2006 was tax-free income earned in a combat zone, that they must file 2007 tax returns in order to receive rebate payments.

And the disabled veterans and service members might receive only $300 rebates for themselves and $300 for their spouses if the family had no other income.

“Individual circumstances will determine the amount of payment,” Devine said.

According to the IRS, people with no net income tax liability — which includes service members and disabled veterans who did not have to pay taxes in 2006 because they didn’t have enough taxable income — will usually get a minimum payment of $300 for a single person or $600 for a married couple filing jointly.

They will get the minimum payments as long as they have at least $3,000 in income from untaxed military pay and disability compensation.

To receive a rebate, service members and disabled veterans who had no net tax liability in 2006 must file tax returns for 2007 — due April 15 — to show that they had the $3,000 of income needed to qualify, Devine said.

“Individuals who might not otherwise be required to file a 2007 tax return will need to file a return this year to receive the stimulus payment,” he said. “The return must show at least $3,000 in qualifying income.”