How to make sure you get your rebate check fast

— -- If receiving a tax refund from the IRS normally puts a spring in your step, you'll get an extra bounce this year.

Under the economic-stimulus package approved by Congress last week, more than 130 million Americans will receive checks for at least $300 in late spring or by summer. The rebate is a credit against your 2008 tax bill, but it will be based on your 2007 tax return.

Most single taxpayers will receive checks for $600, while married couples will receive $1,200. If you have dependent children younger than 17, you're eligible for an additional rebate of $300 per child.

But even if you don't earn enough money to owe income tax, you could be eligible for a rebate. If you received at least $3,000 in 2007 from Social Security, veteran benefits, earned income or any combination of the three, you're eligible for a rebate of at least $300. If you meet that income threshold and have dependents, you're eligible for an additional $300 per child (see box).

The IRS is expected to use information from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs to track down people who are eligible for the rebate. But identifying people who qualify for a rebate solely based on earned income will be much harder, says Mark Luscombe, federal tax analyst for CCH, a publisher of tax information and software.

If you fall into that category, Luscombe recommends filing an income tax return this year, even if you don't make enough money to owe federal income tax. That will make it easier for the IRS to find you, he says.

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The check isn't in the mail

While more than 130 million Americans are expected to receive rebate checks, some people will come up empty-handed, while others will see their rebates reduced. Those individuals include:

•Single taxpayers with adjusted gross income of more than $75,000 and couples with AGI of more than $150,000. The phase-out will be 5% of the amount of your income that exceeds the threshold. Singles with AGI of more than $87,000 and couples with AGI of more than $174,000 won't receive any rebate.