A: Yes. If you received Social Security benefits last year, you may be entitled to an economic stimulus payment, or tax rebate, from the federal government — even if you otherwise would not plan on filing a tax return.

The IRS will begin sending stimulus payments to more than 130 million taxpayers in May. If you have filed or plan to file a 2007 tax return, no other action is necessary.

If you receive Social Security and did not file a 2006 tax return, the IRS should have sent you a package. The package includes everything you need to file a 2007 return and receive a stimulus payment.

In this situation, if you no longer have your form SSA-1099, you do not need a replacement form. The SSA-1099 shows the total amount of benefits received in the previous year. It is used to find out if any benefits are subject to tax, and to complete a federal income tax return.

Remember that if you normally do not file a tax return and the only reason you plan to this year is to receive your stimulus payment, you will not need an SSA-1099 for that.

All you need to do is to fill out an estimate of how much your benefits were during 2007 based on your monthly payment amount on an IRS form 1040 or 1040A.

For more information about your federal income tax, or to determine if you qualify for an economic stimulus payment, go to the IRS Website at www.irs.gov.  

You can also contact the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Individuals and families who earn up to $45,000 annually can receive free tax preparation services through VITA.

Please call the United Way Helpline at 2-1-1 or 227-4357 for more information on VITA services, locations and hours. You can also go online at www.vitasa.org.  

If you live outside of San Antonio, you can find the nearest VITA site by going to www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/eitc/vitasite.html.  

Oscar Garcia is a Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration. You may direct your questions to him at: SSA, 727 E. Durango Blvd., Room B701, San Antonio, Texas 78206. You can also e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .