Q: I am 90 years old. I filed for my rebate the end of April and I have not received anything. Do you still think I will get it?

–– R.F., East Providence

A: Yes, but you’ll have to wait a while. Here’s why:

The U.S. Treasury is in the process of sending out the first batches of rebates, a process that will continue through next month.

To be included in that first round, you generally had to have filed your federal income-tax return early in the season –– say January, February or early March.

If you filed your return later in the season –– say late March, any time in April, or afterward –– your rebate won’t be included in the first round, said Henry W. Stad, local coordinator and tax counselor for the AARP Tax-Aide program.

The Internal Revenue Service can’t process your rebate until it first processes your return, he said. That could take a number of weeks. Once your return is processed, your rebate should be issued within a couple of weeks.

In your question to MoneyLine, you said you filed in late April. As a result, the IRS must process your return, then process your rebate, Stad said.

Overall, the process could take about eight to 10 weeks from the time you filed your return, IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley said. So be patient; your rebate should be arriving within the next few weeks, Riley said.

Q: My question [is] in reference to the stimulus payment. I am widowed, no children, and all my friends have received a payment of $600. I have received my payment of $493. I could not understand the [reason]. . . . My tax liability on line 57 [of the U.S. Form 1040] was $493. Is that the result of my net tax liability for rebate purposes? . . . .

–– C.M., Barrington

A: Yes. In general, rebate amounts range from $300 to $600 if you’re single, or from $600 to $1,200 if you’re married and filed a joint federal income-tax return.

However, those figures represent only ranges; many MoneyLine readers have received rebate amounts that fall somewhere within one of those ranges.

Why? One reason has to do with a special rule that the IRS uses to determine your rebate amount. The figure is known as your net tax liability for rebate purposes.

If you’re single, the maximum rebate amount is generally $600. But if your net tax liability for rebate purposes was $493, you’ll get the $493. Your rebate “cannot be higher than your tax liability,” Riley said.

You can check yourself simply by looking at a copy of the federal return you filed earlier this year. Here are the general rules:

•If you filed a U.S. Form 1040, locate your tax liability on Line 57, then add to that any child tax credit you claimed on Line 52. The result is your net tax liability for rebate purposes.

•If you filed a U.S. Form 1040A, find your tax liability on Line 35, then add to that any child tax credit you claimed on Line 32. The result is your net tax liability for rebate purposes.

•If you filed a U.S. Form 1040EZ, the amount on Line 10 is your net tax liability for rebate purposes.

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