Q: My son was due to receive the IRS rebate in May and elected direct deposit. He already received his IRS refund. He died recently in a car accident. What happens to his IRS rebate? Will one still be issued, or is he considered ineligible now? (He was single, had no children, owned no property.)

— C.N., Exeter

A: I’m sorry to hear about your loss. The Internal Revenue Service will calculate the rebate based on your son’s 2007 return, the one he filed earlier this year.

Assuming he’s otherwise eligible for a rebate (more on that point below), a rebate will still be issued on his behalf, said Patricia A. Thompson, former president of the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants.

The IRS, on a section of its Web site devoted to the rebates, includes a point about rebates on behalf of a deceased taxpayer.

In such a case, the IRS says, rebates “will be issued in the name of the individual eligible for payment on a filed 2007 income tax return or to the account designated by the individual on that return,” the IRS said.

So, assuming that your son completed the “direct deposit” section of his return, his rebate will be deposited directly into his bank account, said Thompson, who is also tax partner at Piccerelli Gilstein & Co. LLP, a CPA firm in Providence.

The person who serves as the executor or representative of your son’s estate will have to access that account to obtain the rebate, Thompson said.

The bank will probably ask to see a copy of the court document which appointed that person as executor or representative, or a copy of other such paperwork, she said.

The question for you is whether your son was otherwise eligible for a rebate. As yesterday’s MoneyLine pointed out, many people are not.

For example, your son may not have been eligible if he had too much (or too little) in income last year; was claimed –– or could have been claimed –– as a dependent on someone else’s return; or did not have a valid Social Security number.

Also, the rebate amount may be offset to cover a person’s delinquent federal income taxes, state income taxes, federally backed student loans or child-support payments.

For more information, call the IRS’s toll-free rebate hot line at (866) 234-2942, or use the IRS Web site:

www.irs.gov

Q: My wife and I filed our income tax jointly. I would assume since we filed jointly, the last two digits of the Social Security number would be the higher number. Mine ends in 96, and my wife’s ends in 18. I would assume [the] 96 number would be in the July delivery. Is that correct?

— R.R., Pawtucket

A: The U.S. Treasury is distributing rebates based on certain rules. For example, if you completed the “direct deposit” section of your 2007 federal income-tax return, the Treasury will probably deposit your rebate directly into your bank or credit union account. Otherwise, you’ll receive your rebate in the form of a check, by mail.

Directly deposited rebates will be issued sooner than checks.

In fact, the Treasury began distributing rebates by direct deposit early last week, several days earlier than scheduled.

Overall, the Treasury said it sent out more than 7.7 million rebates by direct deposit last week, for a total of more than $7.09 billion.

The Treasury plans to directly deposit more rebates this week, and complete the first round of directly deposited rebates by May 16.

The Treasury is scheduled to start mailing rebate checks on Friday; mailings in this first round are to continue through July 11.

So when, in this schedule, can someone expect to receive a rebate? The Treasury will look to the last two digits of the Social Security number listed on someone’s 2007 return.

In general, the closer those digits are to “00,” the earlier the rebate will be issued; the closer those digits are to “99,” the later the rebate will be issued.

If you’re married and filed a joint return, the Treasury will look to the first Social Security number printed on the return, said IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley.

So, assuming that your number was listed first, the IRS will look to the last two digits of your number to determine when to ship the rebate.

You said that the last two digits of your Social Security number are 96. If you completed the “direct deposit” section of your return, you’ll receive your rebate by May 16.

If you didn’t complete the direct deposit section, you’ll receive a rebate check in the mail by July 11.

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