An economic stimulus plan that has the support of Democratic and Republican leaders in the House as well as President Bush would give a financial boost to most Americans.
How might it affect you? The details are subject to change, but based on the terms of this week's proposal, here are answers to basic questions:
What would the plan do?
There are three main components:
About 117 million households -- 87% of families -- would get tax rebate checks.
Limits would be raised, at least temporarily, on the size of mortgages eligible for backing from Washington. That could make lower-cost mortgages more widely available.
Businesses would get big write-offs for investments made in 2008.
How much are the tax rebates?
The amounts would vary based on how much tax you paid in 2007 and whether you have children.
Here's how it breaks out:
Most people would get a rebate of $600 per individual or $1,200 per married couple filing jointly.
But if the tax you paid last year was between $300 and $600 per person or between $600 and $1,200 per couple, you would get a rebate of the tax you paid.
If you worked last year but paid little or no federal income tax, you would get a flat rebate of $300 per individual or $600 per married couple.
In addition to the above amounts, parents would get $300 per "qualifying" child.
What is a "qualifying" child?
The definition is long. The short version is a child under the age of 17 whom you support and who lives with you more than half the year.
We're a married couple with four young children. What would we get?
If you earn $150,000 or less, you probably would get $2,400. That's $1,200 for you and your spouse, plus $300 for each of your dependent children younger than 17. But if you paid less than $1,200 in tax in 2007, your rebate could be reduced.
Who wouldn't get rebates?
About 17 million higher-income households. The rebates would be phased out for singles earning more than $75,000 of what your tax form calls adjusted gross income, and couples with more than $150,000 of such income.
Does that mean I wouldn't get a rebate if I'm single and my adjusted gross income was $80,000?
No. It means you'd get a smaller rebate. The rebate would be reduced by 5% of the amount your income exceeded the threshold. In this case, your income was $5,000 over the threshold, so you would multiply 5% by $5,000 to get $250 and subtract that from your normal refund amount of $600. That would leave you with $350.
