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Tax cut checks
in the mail soon
Beginning the last week
of July, eligible Georgia taxpayers who claimed the Child Tax Credit on
their 2002 tax returns will automatically receive an advance payment of
the 2003 increase in this credit. The Internal Revenue Service estimates
more than 750,000 Georgians will receive these checks.
Taxpayers will
not have to take any action to get this advance payment of up to $400
per qualifying child. The Treasury Department and IRS will perform all
the calculations and automatically mail a notice and a check to each eligible
taxpayer.
"We will
send taxpayers a notice that they will be receiving a check in a few days.
They do not need to call us, apply for the money or fill out a form,"
said IRS spokesperson Eric Erickson. "All the taxpayer will need
to do is cash the check."
The checks
will be based on the child tax credit claimed on the taxpayer's 2002 tax
return. The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 increased
the maximum child tax credit for 2003 to $1,000 per child, up from $600
for tax year 2002.
The law further
instructed the Treasury Department to provide the difference up to $400
per child as an advance payment to each eligible taxpayer this summer.
The Treasury
Department will issue about 25 million of these checks this year, beginning
with three principal mailings scheduled for July 25, Aug. 1 and Aug. 8.
Taxpayers who filed returns after April 15 for example, those with automatic
extensions will receive their advance payments after the IRS processes
their returns. They should not make any change to their 2002 returns or
remittances based on an expectation of an advance payment check.
The IRS will
send notices to taxpayers July 23, July 30 and Aug. 6, informing them
of their advance payment amount.
The IRS urges
taxpayers to hold on to these notices for their 2003 tax returns. They
will need to take the advance payment into account when determining the
amount of their child tax credit on the 2003 tax return.
Taxpayers who
are not eligible for the advance payment may still qualify for the increased
child tax credit of up to $1,000 when they file the 2003 tax return next
year. For instance, a taxpayer who did not have a child in 2002, but had
one in 2003, would not receive an advance payment but may qualify for
the full $1,000 credit on the 2003 tax return.
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