May 2, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Show me the money!

If you asked for direct deposit of your 2007 income tax refund, you will get your stimulus payment first. Direct depositors whose Social Security numbers end in 00 to 20 get their money today. Those whose SSNs end in 21 to 75 get their money May 9 and those whose SSNs end in 76 to 99 get paid on May 16.

If you asked to receive a paper check for your 2007 income tax return, your stimulus payments will be mailed soon. If the last two digits of your Social Security number are 00 to 09, payment will be in the mail by May 16. If it's 10 to 18, it'll be mailed by May 23; 19 to 25 by May 30; 26 to 38 by June 6; 39 to 51 by June 13; 52 to 63 by June 20; 64 to 75 by June 27; 76 to 87 by July 4; and 88 to 99 by July 11.

It's not an excuse this time -- your check is in the mail. The first federal economic stimulus payments should start arriving today, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS says that those who opted to have their 2007 tax refunds sent to them electronically via direct deposit will receive stimulus payments first. Those who opted to receive paper tax refund checks will get their money later. The first paper checks will be mailed May 9, and the first electronic deposits will be made today, a release states.

The IRS will give out $600 per eligible taxpayer ($1,200 for married couples) plus $300 for eligible children younger than 17, throughout the spring and summer.

The order in which payments are sent out is determined by the last two digits of each taxpayer's Social Security number. If the last two digits of your Social Security number are 20 or less, then you will get your payment sooner.

"We did give some preference to those who were getting direct deposits," said IRS spokeswoman Jodie Reynolds. That preference was given, she said, because it is easier to process direct deposit payments.

The dispersal of funds is being done in this order because each year taxes are filed in the IRS' computers according to Social Security number, she said. "We chose to go by the last two digits because those are randomly distributed," Reynolds said. The first three digits of a Social Security number are given by geographic region, while the last two are randomly assigned.

Those who filed their 2007 taxes after the April 15 deadline can expect to receive stimulus payments later in the year.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0024-25017762