Readers inclined to save their tax rebates

If you're like me, you've already imagined how you're going to spend your tax rebate.

As I mentioned in a column last month, I really want to use my government "stimulus payment" for a beautiful big-screen TV. But instead, I'll probably save it to pay for the outrageously expensive gasoline I'll be buying for a summer trip to South Dakota or Texas.

Apparently, many of you are similarly conflicted.

About a month ago, I asked you to let me know what you plan to do with the rebate you'll be receiving starting in May ... and what you really wish you could do, if you didn't have all of that credit card debt hanging over your head.

Your answers so far have leaned toward savings.

A reader named Everett sent me a letter saying he is a senior citizen and originally thought he would be left out in the cold on the rebate. Then he found out he will receive $300.

"I'll use the money to pay toward my property tax," Everett wrote. "I don't know if that stimulates the economy."

Maybe not, Everett, but I'll bet it will help you sleep better at night!

A reader named Ruth had similar plans ... at first.

"I was born during the Depression, so my first thought was to put it in a bank for a rainy day," Ruth wrote. "But ... my dishwasher just went on the fritz, so now I will have to buy another."

We can all relate to that, can't we? Car repairs usually defeat my best saving plans.

A reader named Barbara wrote that she was concerned about the rebate's implications for next year's tax bill. She said she plans to send her rebate back to the government as an estimated tax payment.

"That's because it's not a 'gift,' it's a loan of my own tax money, and I'll have to give it back to (Uncle Sam) next April 15 anyway," she wrote. "The news reports all make this rebate sound like pennies from heaven, but a lot of people are going to be upset next year when their tax refunds are $600 or $1,200 or $2,400 less, or when their tax bills are that much more, because they have to pay back what Uncle Sam lent them.

"My husband and I plan our withholding so that we usually come out just about even, and I won't let this check get in the way of our plans, no matter how tempting it is to spend now and pay later."

It is admirable to live within your means, Barbara.

However, I should point out that a press release I received from the Internal Revenue Service says that the stimulus payments are not taxable and will not have a negative effect on your 2008 tax return, filed in 2009.

"The payments will not reduce your refund next year," the IRS said in its release. "In fact, if your stimulus payment is less than the maximum amount ... it is possible to receive an additional credit amount, up to the maximum, on your 2008 tax return. If your advance payment is more than the credit calculated on your 2008 tax return, you will not have to repay the difference."

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