Taxpayers who are looking forward to some financial relief after May 1, when the federal government will begin doling out economic stimulus payments, need first look to the looming April 15 date. That’s because the relief comes with some requirements. The first being that, young or old, you must file a 2007 tax return.

"If you don't usually file an income tax return, you need to in order to qualify for this," Raphael Tulino, a spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service, said.

President Bush signed a plan in February to ease the current financial pinch on U.S. citizens by sending out up to $600 per qualifying adult. Couples can receive up to $1,200 and an additional $300 per qualifying child under the age of 17.

The bank account boost requires that taxpayers file a 2007 federal tax return with at least $3,000 of income and have a valid Social Security number. Qualifying income includes wages, net self-employment income, Social Security benefits and Railroad Retirement benefits. Other qualifying income includes veterans' disability compensation, pension or survivors' benefits received from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2007. However, Social Security income does not apply.

According to Tulino, the requirement to file a tax return has increased the number of returns that the IRS is processing. As of March 28, the number of tax returns filed nationwide had increased 7.4 percent from 2007. Historically, the increase has hovered around 1 percent per year.

"It increases our volume," Tulino said. "The pros are that we are getting the public to file so they get their returns. I guess the con is that it has been a challenge for the agency to administer simultaneously both tax season and the economic stimulus program."

The IRS will begin to distribute the economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million people after May 1, distributing in order of Social Security number. The IRS estimates that 1.2 million returns from Nevadans will be filed this year, though not all are guaranteed stimulus refunds. As of last week, 605,021 Nevadans had filed 2007 returns.

The payments will be made either by check or direct deposit, depending on the method chosen by each taxpayer on their 2007 tax return.

Some do not qualify for the boost to their bank accounts, including those who earn just a little too much or a little too little.

"We need one line on the back of the form saying that you have at least $3,000 worth of income," Tulino said. Anyone making less than $3,000 in one year (not including Social Security income) does not qualify.

Other requirements are that the person receiving the rebate have a valid Social Security number and not be listed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return.

“That will disqualify you,” Tulino said.

On the opposite end of the economic scale, those who earn large amounts may not qualify for the economic stimulus, Tulino said.

A single person with no dependents who makes more than $75,000 per year is not in a prime position to receive the full rebate, Tulino said. With each increase in income after $75,000, the single person will have a little more shaved off of their rebate. After $87,000, a single person would not receive the rebate at all.

The same standards apply to married couples, just with a little higher income limit.

“Think of it as the top of a mountain,” Tulino explained. “Joint filers begin to phase out at $150,000” and it is all downhill from there.

After reaching $186,000 in annual income, joint filers will not receive any rebate.