Q: When do I get my economic stimulus payment (aka tax rebate)?

A: Some people may actually see their money as early as today. Here's the schedule, if you filed your federal tax return by the April 15 deadline and the IRS processed it by then. If you filed jointly, the Social Security number listed first will determine when you'll get your rebate. If you sign up for direct deposit on your tax return, find the last two digits of your Social Security number to determine when the tax rebate will be deposited into your account:
00 - 20, May 2
21 - 75, May 9
76 - 99, May 16

If you didn't sign up for direct deposit, expect a paper check in the mail during these dates, according to the last two digits of your Social Security number:
00 - 09, May 16
10 - 18, May 23
19 - 25, May 30
26 - 38, June 6
39 - 51, June 13
52 - 63, June 20
64 - 75, June 27
76 - 87, July 4
88 – 99, July 11

Q: Why did I get less than my friends and neighbors?

A: The economic stimulus payment is based on your 2007 income tax return. Most taxpayers qualify for the maximum payment of $600 for singles or $1,200 for married couples. Many parents also get $300 for each qualifying child, born after Dec. 31, 1990.

Here are some reasons the IRS may send you less than the maximum:

You are single and your net income tax liability is less than $600. (On Form 1040, your net income tax liability is Line 57, plus the amount on Line 52.) You are married and your net income tax liability is less than $1,200. You are single and your adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $75,000. (On Form 1040, this is Line 37.) You are married filing a joint return and your AGI is more than $150,000. You owe back taxes. You have federal debts such as unpaid student loans or child-support obligations.

Q: I filed my return on time, but still haven't gotten my rebate. The schedule says I should have gotten it by now.

A. The IRS says the payment schedule (listed above) only applies if your return was received and the IRS finished processing your return before April 15. If you filed your return on time, but close to the April 15 deadline, the IRS may not have finished processing it before April 15. If you're expecting a regular tax refund, the IRS will send that to you first. The tax rebate will follow about a week or two later. If you're not expecting a regular tax refund, your stimulus payment should arrive a minimum of six weeks after you filed your return.

Q: I filed after April 15, and the payment date for my Social Security number has passed. When will I get my rebate?

A. A minimum of six weeks after you file your return.

Q: To which address is the rebate mailed?

A: The rebate will be sent to the last known address the IRS has on file, if you did not elect direct deposit.

Q: How do I know if I won't get a rebate?

A: You won't get a rebate in 2008 if any of the following apply: You don't file a 2007 tax return. Your net income tax liability is zero and your qualifying income is less than $3,000. To determine your qualifying income, add together your wages, net self-employment income, nontaxable combat pay, Social Security benefits, certain Railroad Retirement benefits and certain veterans' payments. You can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return (whether or not you actually are claimed as a dependent on someone else's return). This would include a child or student who can be claimed on a parent's return. You don't have a valid Social Security number. You are a nonresident alien. You file Form 1040NR or Form 1040NR-EZ, Form 1040PR or Form 1040SS for 2007.

Q. What happens if I provided the wrong direct deposit information on my return?

A. You can call to notify the IRS, but because of the timing of the refund, it may be difficult to stop the payment. If your rebate is returned by the bank, the IRS will send you a paper check.

Q: I used Direct Deposit to split my refund between several accounts when I filed my tax return. Where will the rebate be deposited?

A: If you split your refund between several accounts, you will not get your rebate by direct deposit. The IRS will send you a paper check.

Q: What happens to my rebate if I requested a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) from my preparer?

A: If you use RALs or enter into any other loan or financial agreement with your tax professional, you won't get your rebate direct deposited. The IRS will send you a paper check.

The Supreme Court's decision Monday to uphold Indiana's photo-ID law in elections will permit Republican-dominated legislatures in other states to pass legislation that liberal political advocates say will disenfranchise poorer, Democratic-leaning voters.

Project Vote, a liberal-leaning voter-registration group, said 59 voter-ID bills have been introduced in 24 states, nearly all of them by Republicans, during the 2008 legislative session. Republican legislators in 11 states also are pushing bills to require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

More than 20 states, including Arizona, require some type of identification at the polls. The Supreme Court, on a 6-3 vote, ruled that Indiana has a "valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,' " Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion that was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Stevens said Indiana's desire to prevent fraud and to inspire voter confidence in the election system are important even though there have been no reports of the kind of fraud the law was designed to combat. The law does not apply to absentee balloting, where election experts agree the threat of fraud is higher.

The use of photo IDs as a way to curb voter fraud has become a touchstone for Democrats, who accuse the GOP of engaging in a vast conspiracy to restrict voting of the poor, the elderly and minorities.

Congress investigated the Bush administration's Justice Department last year over allegations that its Civil Rights Division had twisted enforcement of the nation's voting-rights laws to aid Republicans and had authorized restrictive voter-ID laws in various states.

The court says Bosco Ntaganda conscripted child soldiers to fight in the Ituri region of eastern Congo from July 2002 until December 2003.

The court's prosecutor says Ntaganda is still at large in the Congo.

Prosecutors say he is chief of staff of a "political-military group" commanded by rebel Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu province.

Tuesday's statement alleges that Ntaganda is a former ally of Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga was the first suspect taken into custody by the Hague-based court and is due to go on trial in late June for allegedly using child soldiers.

Rebate paper checks will be mailed to those who did not opt for an electronic transfer, beginning on May 9. The IRS will issue payments of up to 600 dollars (1,200 dollars for married couples), plus 300 for eligible children younger than 17.

The rebates are available to individuals who have income of less than 75,000 dollars a year, or 150,000 dollars for a couple. People who have no requirement to file a tax form must have at least 3,000 in qualifying income, such as earned income and pension benefits, and file the form to receive a rebate.

Rebate checks will continue to be mailed through mid-July. For those who did not file by the April 15 deadline, there may be a delay in receiving the rebates, the IRS said.

The stimulus plan is expected to cost 152 billion dollars this year.

In a splintered 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Indiana's strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Its backers said it was needed to prevent fraud.

It was the most important voting rights case since the Bush v. Gore dispute that sealed the 2000 election for George W. Bush. But the voter ID ruling lacked the conservative-liberal split that marked the 2000 case.

The law "is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting 'the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,'" Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion that was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy. Stevens was a dissenter in Bush v. Gore in 2000. Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas also agreed with the outcome, but wrote separately.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented, just as they did in 2000.More than 20 states require some form of identification at the polls. Courts have upheld voter ID laws in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, but struck down Missouri's. Monday's decision comes a week before Indiana's presidential primary.