Q. What if you have not received your rebate and it is past the expected deposit date? My last [two] numbers [of my Social Security number] are 06. I do not owe any back taxes, student loans or child support. I called the automated number and I can’t get any information.

— R.R., Dallas, Texas

A: First off, it’s important to remember that the rebate process has only just begun. Many people have received their rebates, but most have not.

The U.S. Treasury last week completed the first batch of rebates to be directly deposited into recipients’ bank or credit union accounts. But more batches will be directly deposited through the end of this year.

And although the Treasury began mailing the first batch of rebate checks about a week ago, the first batch of mailings won’t be completed until mid-July. More batches will be mailed through the end of the year.

So if you haven’t received your rebate yet, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in the majority.

It’s also important to bear in mind the size and scope of what the Treasury is trying to accomplish, said Deborah J. Hadden, former president of the Rhode Island Association of Enrolled Agents, which represents federally licensed tax practitioners.

Overall, the Treasury plans to issue about $107 billion in rebates this year to more than 130 million households. So it’s obviously an enormous undertaking, said Hadden, owner of BRL Associates LLC, a tax-preparation firm based in Westerly.

Why haven’t you received your rebate yet? In general, if you filled out the “direct deposit” section of your federal income-tax return, you should receive your rebate by direct deposit, too, said Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman Peggy Riley. And directly deposited rebates are being issued earlier than paper checks by mail.

However, under certain circumstances, you may instead receive a rebate check by mail — even if you completed the “direct deposit” section of your return.

(That may be the case if, for example, you received a “refund anticipation loan” in connection with your federal income-tax refund; you didn’t list the correct account number or routing number in the “direct deposit” section of your return; or your bank or credit union account has closed.)

Here’s another key point to consider: The government is processing rebates based on the information provided on the federal income-tax return filed earlier this year, the one covering 2007.

The later you filed that return, the later it’ll be processed, and the later you’ll receive your rebate.

The IRS earlier this year suggested that if you filed your return by the April 15 deadline, you could be pretty much assured that your rebate would be included in the first batch.

“If you file after April 15, with or without a tax-filing extension, your payment will be delayed,” the IRS said on its Web site.

The IRS now says, however, that your return must be processed by April 15 for your rebate to be included in the first batch of distributions. To have had a return processed by April 15, you generally had to have filed it by mid-March or so, said Riley.

So, as a general rule, “If you didn’t file by mid-March, you may not be in the first batch” of rebate distributions, Riley said in an interview last week at IRS regional headquarters in Boston.

That’s true no matter the last two digits of your Social Security number. (In general, the closer those digits are to “00,” the sooner you’re supposed to receive your rebate; the closer those digits are to “99,” the later you’ll receive your rebate.)

Q: My rebate should have been direct deposited on Friday, May 2, according to the posted schedule based on my [Social Security number’s] last two digits. I have not received it. I do not have any of the disqualifiers (unpaid taxes, unpaid child support, outstanding student loans, etc.), I filed on time, and I know that the direct deposit info is correct, as I already received my refund . . . (coincidentally on May 2, when I was expecting my rebate). When I go on the IRS site to their general info page and put in my data, it says that my refund should be $1,200. My question is, what should I do? Should I wait it out and see if it eventually appears? Or, is there some person, number, or e-mail that I can contact regarding this delay?

— D.J., North Kingstown

A: Wait it out.

If you received your federal income-tax refund by direct deposit on May 2, you probably filed your return later in the season, perhaps in late March or early-to-mid-April, Riley said.

As a result, your rebate may not have been included in the first batch to go out, she said.

As a general rule, directly deposited rebates arrive about two weeks or so after directly deposited federal income-tax refunds, she said.

So you should sit tight; your rebate will probably arrive soon.

If you’re anxious, check your rebate’s status by using the new online tool available on the IRS Web site:

www.irs.gov

Click on the “Rebate Payment Questions?” link at the top of the page. Then scroll down to the “Where’s My Stimulus Payment?” link.

“The system is up and working,” Riley said. However, it’s mainly for those who are due a rebate “soon,” she said.

So if you’re due to receive your rebate in July, for example, the online tool may not be able to provide you with the current status, she said.

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