5,700 in area have not filed for stimulus checks

By Cynthia Pegram

Published: August 4, 2008

Despite the allure of easy money, more than 5,700 eligible people in Central Virginia have not filed for the stimulus payments Congress authorized to boost the economy.

The area residents are among an estimated 5 million people nationwide who haven’t tapped into the funds, many with incomes so low they don’t meet the threshold of having to file income tax.

Those include senior citizens living on Social Security and Veterans Administration beneficiaries, IRS media spokesman Jim Dupree said Monday.

Based on the IRS database, the local non-filers include 1,705 in the city of Lynchburg. In nearby counties the numbers are: 713 in Amherst, 233 in Appomattox, 2,012 in Bedford, and 1,085 in Campbell.

Bedford County is on the list of the state’s top 20 counties with the highest number of people who haven’t filed for the boost.

People have until Oct. 15 to file a 2007 tax return and apply for the windfall.

Why aren’t some folks filing?

“Apprehension, fear, anxiety,” said David Edwards, who oversees the State Health Insurance Program for the Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging. Edwards also helps people file for Medicare.

Many fear unnecessarily that the stimulus payment would count as income that might affect benefits like food stamps, Social Security, or rent supplements that are tied to income amounts.

And others, said Edwards, “don’t know how to do it.”

All it takes is filing a 2007 income tax form.

When Congress authorized the stimulus package of more than $63 billion for about 124 million households, it stipulated that the money was not taxable and that the economic boost — about $300 to $600 for individuals and for couples, $600 to $1,200 — won’t interfere with low-income benefits. Those with children under age 17 may get an additional $300 for each qualifying child. But people with a high income may not be eligible at all.

Diana Brown, Lyn-CAG income tax assistance program coordinator, works with clients who are eligible but haven’t filed.

“There is a lot of uncertainty about what it is — non-clarity about what they’re filing for, especially in older individuals, or people on disability,” said Brown.

They’re afraid the money will count against them, she said, “even though we keep telling them, letting them know it’s not going to. They’re very skeptical.”

Brown said that economic stimulus scams are prevalent right now, and that among them are phone calls by people who lie and say they’re from the IRS and ask for “a last piece of information” to finish filing the tax form so they can get the money. Don’t believe it.

“We tell them — the IRS will not contact you about the stimulus,” said Brown.