Hello alex,
Did you work during the 2008 tax year?
If so, do you know approximately how much you made? Do you have a W-2 form from your employer?
Thank you for the additional information.
In order for you to qualify for the Stimulus Rebate, you must have a minimum of $3,000 in qualifying income. So if your net income after expenses from being an independent contractor was at least $3,000, then you would qualify to receive this rebate. If you are a single person, the rebate would be a minimum of $300 and a maximum of $600. In order to receive the maximum rebate of $600, you must owe at least that much in tax.
If you did not actually pay in any estimated taxes last year to cover tax you may owe on your self employment income, then it is not likely you would actually receive a rebate in the form of a refund from the IRS. Any rebate which you were entitled to would first be applied against any tax you owe for the year, but this would at least help to satisfy the taxes that you do owe for last year.
In order to claim the rebate you need to file your 2008 tax return and report the income and expenses you had from your work. Your net income is then what will be subject to tax. If it ends up you owe $600 or more in taxes, then you would be entitled to the full $600 rebate, and that rebate would be applied against the tax you owe. You would then only be liable for any additional taxes still due.
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Thank you alex
Hello again alex,
If no one sent you a 1099 form to report how much you made, then what you report to the IRS as far as your earnings would have to strictly be based on your own records. If you did not keep an actual detailed record of your earnings, all you could do at this time would be to try and go back through your bank records for the year and possibly try to reconstruct what you think you had in earnings and expenses.
If you had worked an actual job where a W-2 form was issued to you, or if any of the companies you worked for as an independent contractor sent you a 1099 form, then copies of those same forms would be sent to the IRS. If that were the case, if you did not file for 2008 then you would eventually receive a notice from the IRS requesting you to file your return. If none of these forms were issued to you for 2008, then more than likely the IRS will have no reason to request that you file a return, as at this point they have no record that you had any income for the year.
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As a tax professional, I cannot recommend that anyone who had income not file a return, because legally you are responsible to file a return if you have self employment income of $400 or more for the year. However, as I told you earlier, since the IRS has no official records to indicate that you had earnings, it is not likely they would pursue you to file a return for last year.
If you started filing in future years but did not file for 2008, it would not particularly raise any red flags. There are many people, especially with our economy the way it is now, who experience years where they are out of work. So not filing for one year would not in itself raise any flags with the IRS.
Accountant
25+ years tax consulting. Specializing in returns for US citizens living abroad