Those who have no tax liability and are not required to file a tax return may qualify for a minimum payment of $300 ($600 if filing a joint return) if they send the IRS a simple tax return that reflects $3,000 or more in qualifying income.  For the purpose of the stimulus payments, qualifying income includes veterans’ disability compensation, and pension or survivors’ benefits received from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007.  Specifically, compensation or pension received under chapter 11, chapter 13, or chapter 15 of title 38, United States Code will qualify.The compensation under those code sections includes: Monthly payments to veterans of the armed forces who are disabled as a result of injuries or diseases incurred or aggravated during active service, i.e., who have “service-connected disabilities.”  Payments vary with degree of disability and numbers of dependents (spouse, children).

• Monthly payments to surviving spouses; children (if no qualified surviving spouse); and low-income parents of members who die in active service, or veterans whose deaths are “service connected” (the result of service-incurred or service-aggravated injuries or diseases).
• Monthly benefits paid to surviving spouses, or to children if there is no qualified surviving spouse, of veterans whose deaths are not service connected but who suffered from total, service-connected disability for specified periods immediately prior to their deaths.

Also included are those who receive a disability pension which is monthly need-based payments to certain wartime veterans who suffer from permanent and total, non-service-connected disability, or who are age 65 and older.  Death pension payments are the final category which are monthly need-based payments to surviving spouses, or, if no qualified surviving spouse, children, of certain wartime veterans.

Here is what to do.
Those who are not required to file a 2007 return but whose total qualifying income (including earned income, Social Security, certain Railroad Retirement and any of the veterans’ benefits stated above) would equal or exceed $3,000, should file a simple tax return reporting the income and benefits to establish eligibility.  You can use a Form 1040A and report the total of your benefits on Line 14a, or you can use a Form 1040 and report the total of your benefits on Line 20a.  Please note that both of these lines refer only to Social Security, but you should enter the total of all your benefits received there, whether your only benefits were veterans’ benefits, or a combination of any of the three (Social Security, Railroad Retirement, or veterans’).  If you have any earned income, it is reported on a separate line, Line 7, of either form.

Your name, Social Security number and signature (those entries for both you and your spouse if filing jointly), as well as your address, filing status and whether or not you’d like to receive your payment via Direct Deposit, are the only other items needed on the tax return.  No other lines need be filled in.  A sample 1040A showing the minimal information needed can be viewed on the IRS Website at irs.gov and used as a model for completing the form.

The IRS emphasized that people with no filing requirement who turn in a tax return to qualify for the economic stimulus payment will not get a tax bill. People in this category will not owe money because of the stimulus payment.  The stimulus payments are not taxable.

More information on these economic stimulus payments is available on www.IRS.gov. Just click on “Rebate questions” link.  IRS wants to make sure that no one who is qualified for a payment gets left behind.

AMVETS CALLS ON SENATE TO IMPROVE VA BUDGET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 2007—AMVETS, along with other leading veterans’ service organizations, called for a more consistent budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs during testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

AMVETS Director of Legislative Affairs Raymond Kelley testified that the VA needs consistent funding to successfully deliver care in the coming years.

“Veterans should not have to wait for benefits to which they are entitled,” said Kelley in his testimony. “We strongly support mandatory funding for VA health care.  However, if the Congress cannot support mandatory funding, there are alternatives which could meet our goals of timely, sufficient, and predictable funding.”

AMVETS, with the support of Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars, is calling for improved funding processes for the VA.

In recent years, the VA has had to seek supplemental funding from the Federal Government to overcome budget shortfalls. Most recently, President Bush and Congress approved $3.7 billion in emergency supplemental funding to provide for veterans’ care in 2008.

The total VA budget is set to increase by nearly $3.4 billion in 2009—nearly $3 billion short of the Independent Budget assessment recommendations. Many of these increases are slated to fund programs designed to improve communication between Department of Defense and the VA, as recommended by the Dole-Shalala Commission. While AMVETS supports this open line of communication, it must not come at the expense of acute care for veterans who need it. “We’ve seen trends develop since the start of the Global War on Terror and we have an opportunity to do this right in 2009,” said AMVETS National Cmdr. John P. “JP” Brown III. “Every year, our leaders nickel-and-dime the VA, compromising the care that we give our veterans. We have to do better than this.
”About AMVETS:    
A leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS provides support for veterans and the active military in procuring their earned entitlements, as well as community services that enhance the quality of life for this nation’s citizens. AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered veterans’ service organizations in the United States, and includes members from each branch of the military, including the National Guard and Reserves.




VA Increases Travel Reimbursement for Eligible Veterans January 31, 2008 Peake: Disabled Veterans Earned Increase WASHINGTON – Over a million eligible veterans will see their mileage reimbursement more than double starting tomorrow, for travel to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. “This increase helps veterans -- especially those living in rural areas -- offset some of the gasoline costs as they travel to VA’s world-class health care,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake.  “Increasing the mileage reimbursement is one more step by VA to help veterans access the health care they deserve.” The 2008 appropriations act provided funding for VA to increase the beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile.  The increase goes into effect on Feb. 1. After little more then a month on the job, Secretary Peake used his authority to establish the first increase in the mileage reimbursement in 30 years, fulfilling a pledge he made during his Senate confirmation hearing last month. While increasing the payment, VA, as mandated by law, also equally increased the deductible amounts applied to certain mileage reimbursements.  The new deductibles are $7.77 for a one way trip, $15.54 for a round trip, with a maximum of $46.62 per calendar month.  However, these deductibles can be waived if they cause a financial hardship to the   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 7, 2008   Pay in Vets’ Work Program Ruled Tax-Free Ruling on Compensated Work Therapy Retroactive Three Years WASHINGTON -- Payments provided to veterans under two specific programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) -- the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) and Incentive Therapy (IT) programs -- are no longer taxable, according to the Internal Revenue Service.  Veterans who paid tax on these benefits in the past three years can claim refunds. Recipients of CWT and IT payments no longer receive a Form 1099 (Miscellaneous Income) from VA.  Veterans who paid tax on these benefits in tax years 2004, 2005 or 2006 can claim a refund by filing an amended tax return using IRS Form 1040X.  Nearly 19,000 veterans received CWT benefits last year, while 8,500 received IT benefits. The IRS agreed with a U.S. Tax Court decision earlier in 2007 that CWT payments are tax-free veterans benefits.  In so doing, the agency reversed a 1965 ruling that these payments were taxable and required VA to report payments as taxable income. The CWT and IT programs provide assistance to veterans unable to work and support themselves.  Under the CWT program, VA contracts with private industry and the public sector for work by veterans, who learn new job skills, strengthen successful work habits and regain a sense of self-esteem and self-worth.  Veterans are compensated by VA for their work and, in turn, improve their economic and social well-being. Under the IT program, seriously disabled veterans receive payments for providing services at about 70 VA medical centers.