The e-filing numbers are in, folks. And despite Congress’ desire for us to reach 80 percent of taxpayers using e-file, we’re falling short of that goal. Originally, Congress set 2008 as the year to reach 80 percent. But for tax year 2007, just 62 percent of taxpayers filed electronically, up from 57 percent for tax year 2006.

In Minnesota, we’re above average, with 74 percent of filers e-fling for tax year 2007 compared with 71 percent in tax year 2006.

However, both of those 2006 numbers looked higher at this time last year and were eventually revised downward. So we may not be as hip to e-filing as it initially appears. (more…)

After my last post on stimulus checks, I e-mailed Carrie Resch at the IRS, who kindly pulled out the following answers that she hopes will satisfy those of you who thought you would see your stimulus rebate right now. Turns out the check’ll be in the mail in many cases.

Turbo Tax also has its own stimulus FAQs.

And the IRS now has a Where’s my Stimulus Calculator although it states that specific information about payments isn’t available until the week before the payment goes out. But I guess it’s better than nothing.

Here are the responses from Spokeswoman Carrie Resch at the IRS:
Q. I chose direct debit to pay my tax bill. Will my stimulus payment be
direct deposited to the same account?

A. No, the account information used for an incoming direct debit payment
to the IRS cannot be used as the account information for the direct
deposit of the stimulus payment. People who choose direct debit to pay a
balance due will receive their stimulus payments by paper check through
the mail. [Updated 3/3/08]

Q. I plan to choose direct debit to pay my tax bill. I know my economic
stimulus payment will not automatically be direct deposited based upon
the direct debit information I’ve provided to pay my tax bill, but can I
also enter direct deposit information to receive my stimulus payment by
direct deposit?

A. Some tax preparation software will allow this, some will not. You
will have to make this determination based on your own review of the tax
preparation software you use. If the tax software allows you to enter
both direct debit (electronic funds withdrawal), as well as direct
deposit information, doing so will allow your economic stimulus payment
to be direct deposited. [New 3/20/08]

You didn’t expect this hastily approved stimulus rebate deal to go off without a single hitch, did you?

And now the stories are coming in about rebates being sent via mail instead of direct deposit, rebates being deposited into IRA accounts designed for retirement, and rebates ending up in the wrong taxpayer’s bank account.

Anyone have such a story to share?

The IRS has a list of frequently asked questions about the rebate. And they’ve made an exception for taxpayers who had directed their tax rebate into an IRA and either don’t want their stimulus to go towards retirement or can’t have their stimulus payment applied to the IRA because it would bump them over the maximum IRA limit. Read more here.

I’m still expecting mine to come in July. And in a way, it’s a good thing to have to wait because it gives me time to mull over all of my options– from the flat screen to the plane tickets to a GPS for the car. Maybe by the time the check’s in my hot little hands, the urge to splurge will be long gone and I’ll stick it in my just in case account or new car account where it belongs.

I try to max out a Roth IRA each year. I like this type of account, which I’ve referred to as the little black dress of personal finance, because of its versatility. It’s designed for retirement, but since it’s an after-tax account, you can take your contributions out tax free at any time. That makes it a great save for emergencies, save for a big ticket item account.

Although, of course, if you have all of your money in aggressive stock funds, you could risk losing some of your principal and not having it available if you need it. So I have another smaller emergency savings account too.

Anyway, this weekend I received a statement for my 2007 contributions to my IRA. In 2007, you could contribute $4,000; this year it’s $5,000. You can contribute to an IRA for the prior year through tax day– aka April 15th. So my monthly contributions in January through March actually went towards my 2007 limit. Confused, yet?

So the statement said that I saved $4,000.95 for tax year 2007. But the max is $4,000. How annoying is that? I blame it on my mid-year attempt to save exactly $4,000 through dollar cost averaging. Clearly, I goofed on my math, which is no surprise since I often make tweaks to my finances at night when everyone else is asleep and I have the time, but not always the brain power.

I called A.B.C. mutual fund company and told them of my situation. The woman said she couldn’t tell me to do nothing on the recorded line, but that she’s never heard of the IRS flagging a return because a person saved .95 cents too much in a tax advantaged account.

If I wanted to, she would send out an excess contributions form, which would guide me through the calculations to determine how much I earned on that .95 cents and what penalty or taxes I would owe. That sounds time consuming on several levels.

With the contribution limits for IRAs indexed to inflation going forward, I hope that A.B.C and other fund companies that undoubtedly have thousands of customers who wish to max out their IRAs by automatically socking away a sum each month will streamline this process. Anyone know a company that does make this easy?

For those of you who want the whole excess contributions enchilada, here’s IRS Pub 590 .

For those of you who aren’t sure if you’re receiving a rebate or exactly how much to expect, here’s a handy tax rebate calculator from Kiplinger’s.

And if you’ve forgotten about when approximately your pay day is, check out the following IRS chart. They’re about a week ahead of schedule, I believe:

Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns
Received and Processed by April 15

Remember, you have to have filed your tax return to get a payment. If you’re late, it will take about six weeks from when you file to get your payment in hand, or later if you aren’t direct depositing.