Hams Can Assist Disabled Veterans

[k9zmd]

Many hams may know veterans on disability pension, whether it be a relative, a neighbor, or a friend. You can help them this year in a special way by doing three simple things:

1. Ensure that disabled veterans are aware of their eligibility for a 2007 Stimulus Payment, and also know that they must send in a tax form in order to receive the payment (even if they would otherwise not be required to file a tax return).

2. Assure them that the Stimulus Payment is not taxable, and will not cause their disability pension to become taxed.

3. Offer to assist your disabled veteran prepare a form 1040A and send it in to claim their Stimulus Payment.

According to an IRS bulletin dated March 10, 2008, IRS will begin next week to mail special information packages to 20.5 million individuals who receive Social Security and/or Veterans Affairs benefits, but who did not file a 2006 tax return. Over 130 million others, who did file a 2006 return, will be sent a different Stimulus Payment letter. That is a lot of folks, and it does not give them a lot of time before the filing deadline. That is especially true when many of them may only check their mailing address (a shelter perhaps?) monthly.

I have just learned - from actually assisting a disabled veteran - that completing the 1040A for the Stimulus Payment is exceedingly simple. It took less than 10 minutes to guide the vet from start to finish, and that included sticking a stamp on the envelope. However, for the unassisted veteran, it might not be such a simple matter.

Prior to sitting down with my vet, I spent half an hour going through the 6 pages of instructions until I was convinced that, "Hey, this really is simple!" I know that my disabled veteran would have become instantly frustrated by the instructions and scrapped the whole project inside of 5 minutes. In that respect, he is not unlike hundreds of thousands of other veterans out there. One of them might even be your neighbor.

This posting has been based on my own experiences and the official information available from the IRS at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=179203,00.html . Take just a moment to check it if you even think there is a disabled veteran that you might be able to help. And for you veterans out there who fortunately do not need any assistance, thank you for your service & now look around to see if there is a brother that you could help.

Gary, K9ZMD

[kd5dnk]

I want to applaude you gary for thinking enough of the plight of many disabled veterans and doing something about those problems unfortunatly the government who so desperatly needed these men and women in the times of crisis seems to want to bury there needs in mountains of red tape and and just forget about the sacrificies they made so my hat is off to you sir untill I can meet you and shake your hand
Kd5dnk, Thomas Valentine
Viet Nam Vet.

[kc9jwa]

Thanks gary i have hubby read this to my father inlaw wich i take care of i get paid by state, it helps all of us.If htat help him that be great. Hubby could relay it to him better than i can.:) If im not mistakin i think is is a vetran.

[n5ark]

As a disabled Iraqi Veteran I know first hand of all the rumors you will hear from people. I know one Vet who is scared if he gets his rebate they will take it out of his check. That is not true of course but without people with the proper knowledge helping others they may never receive it. There are many verterans of the streets that prob will never get thiers because they simply dont know how.

Thanks again Gary for posting. Now maybe someone that knows a veteran will help them out.

73's

[k9zmd]

. . . I know one Vet who is scared if he gets his rebate they will take it out of his check . . . .

Troy, thank you for reminding me of an issue with many veterans on a disability pension - the (painfully learned) fear that any money they make this year will be deducted by VA from next year's disability pay schedule. (That stinks, but it is on the list of future battles to be fought.)

Although that "offset" is applied for any earned income, interest, or dividends reported to the IRS, that will not be an issue with the 2007 Stimulus Payment (as it is not treated by IRS as income, and is not reported to the VA as income). I actually had to show that in black & white to my own veteran before he was willing to fill out a form 1040A.

Thanks again Troy, and my sincere wishes for a steady recovery. 73

Gary, K9ZMD

[K8JHR]

I think we can also help provide transportation of vets and other disabled persons get to the polls to vote this year; and/or assist them in completing Absentee Voter Ballots ahead of the elections.

There are other ways, of course, also... but I thought I would mention that here as it relates to your thread on tax relief.

Happy trails. /// Richards - K8JHR ///
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[w4nti]

Troy, thank you for reminding me of an issue with many veterans on a disability pension - the (painfully learned) fear that any money they make this year will be deducted by VA from next year's disability pay schedule. (That stinks, but it is on the list of future battles to be fought.)

Although that "offset" is applied for any earned income, interest, or dividends reported to the IRS, that will not be an issue with the 2007 Stimulus Payment (as it is not treated by IRS as income, and is not reported to the VA as income). I actually had to show that in black & white to my own veteran before he was willing to fill out a form 1040A.

Thanks again Troy, and my sincere wishes for a steady recovery. 73

Gary, K9ZMD

Gary, K9ZMD

Excellent idea. I am sure there are a LOT of Veterans out there that could us the help. I think I can handle my own, but I will say it the way it is. I DON'T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT as far as I CAN TOSS THEM.

Now they say, send it in, get your due, we won't screw with you, we won't put you on a list, we won't take it back when some other party gets in power.

I don't know what to do. And yes I am a Disabled Vet, 100percent from the Vietnam war.

Dan/W4NTI

[KD4OVM]

What if the disabled tax payer (vet or not) owes back taxes and the Feds have declared the disabled person as unable to pay do to income. Will this type of disabled person still receive the money or will the IRS take it as part of the repayment of the back taxes.

Tim KD4OVM

[k9zmd]

Some good questions raised here, but I don't have the answers. Individual cases might be resolved by some individual research at the www.irs.gov web site, while others might require legal advice. While I've been called a lot of things, lawyer is not one of them.

For Dan, W4NTI: You aren't alone in mistrusting the government. The feeling is very real to the individual and is not to be denied. Fact is, there are many who would not accept any reassurance, regardless of the source. In your case, it is an individual decision you'll probably make by weighing the tax free $300 (perhaps much needed) against the personal discomfort you might feel about filing, then going with whatever your gut tells you.

Tim, KD4OVM: You have highlighted a situation where the individual could reasonably suspect a risk that might outweigh the tax free $300. Whether or not the Stimulus Payment would complicate things, I could only guess (and that has no value). You might be able to find out by researching the issue at the irs.gov website, but asking a tax attorney would probably be the most certain approach.

So, is there anyone reading this thread who has the proper credentials to give some legal advice? (Never hurts to ask, does it?)

Gary, K9ZMD

[w4nti]

What if the disabled tax payer (vet or not) owes back taxes and the Feds have declared the disabled person as unable to pay do to income. Will this type of disabled person still receive the money or will the IRS take it as part of the repayment of the back taxes.

Tim KD4OVM

Tim,

I read in Military.com (I believe), or maybe it was the Nam Vets page, I don't remember...but according to it the IRS is sending out letters to all of us drawing disability with how to do what.

I ain't gonna do a thing till I see it in black and white and them I may still not do it. I'll make my mind up then.

I for sure ain't gonna initiate a dang thing.

Do what you feel is right. Welcome home Brother. It's a long haul ain't it?

Dan/W4NTI

[w7sfg]

Thanks

W7SFG

[ke7mbl]

Thanks for reminding us veterans that are veterans that need help.:(:cool:

[ai4ho]

Gary,

Good advice for all, I too am a disabled vet at 80% waiting for my 100% to come thru. I did manage to do mine on my own also. I helped my daughter get hers. She is a 20 year old disabled vet (40%, broke her back in training, and is facing a lifetime of pain and agony. Let us not forget those who served our country proudly, and are now forgotten and screwed with by our gov't.

Remember, If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English thank a soldier,sailor,marine, airmen/women.


73 de Mark
AI4HO

[k2bt]

Another disabled vet here. 60% and one piece of paper away from 100. If it wasn't for people who cared I would be sleeping on a park bench so I'm forever grateful to all who help vets. Our county veterans office (chautauqua) is willing to help us get more vets and disabled vets interested in amateur radio. Instead of sitting around all day with nothing to do we are going to help them get licensed and get on the air. This hobby has helped me tremendously. I used to sit around all day and watch tv and fall deeper into depression. Now I have something to look forward to every day. If there are any disabled vets (or anyone) looking for something to do I'd recommend amateur radio every time. There is always something to do or to learn and I thank those who have kept this hobby alive for all these years. '73 John-K2BT

[k9zmd]

I thank everyone for their input to this thread. It's especially gratifying to hear from some hams who are disabled vets.

My elmer was George, K9UVX (SK), a 100% disabled WWII vet. Without his help, I probably would never have gotten my ham ticket. I don't know what George was proudest of - that I got that license, or that I enlisted in '64. One of my regrets in life is that George passed away before I got my first home leave.

Although I never thought of it this way before, George's kindness to a kid was sort of paying it forward. Forty-four years later, that kid is now doing all he can so a disabled Gulf War vet will never need to sleep on a park bench. And now that I think about it, I like that thought . . . it isn't any big thing; it's just repaying a debt. 73

Gary, K9ZMD

[w7sfg]

Again, Thanks Mr. Gary.

W7SFG

[KB1PLB]

Thank you Gary for your thread. I am a Past American Legion Commander (SAL) and there are so many things that can be done to help. Besides what is recommended in this thread if you are looking for other ways to help, contact your local American Legion. The programs in each community are different and tailored to what is needed locally.

I salute you Gary. 73


Regards

[k9zmd]

I recieved my "Stimulus Payment" packet from the IRS yesterday. I opened it and it contained:
A one page brief introduction (easy to read and quick),
Two pages of instructions (VERY easy and quick),
A sample 1040A for disabled Vets and SSDI recipients (front and back) with the majority of the questions shaded grey/gray which means you skip those questions and
Two real 1040A's (front and back).......in case you make a mistake, there is an extra.
Make sure you write "Stimulus Payment" on the top of page one.
It took my XYL about ten minutes at an easy and slow pace . . . . W7SFG

Brian,
Thanks for letting me know that your package arrived. Sounds like it contains more streamlined instructions than those I found at the IRS web site. Glad to know that it went so quick and easy. 73

Gary, K9ZMD

[KE5TNK]

Just to add another post, I'm now 30% after being reduced from the 100% I was told I'd receive for 5 years while being reevaluated for brain cancer and the subsequent removal of the tumor. I was reduced 2 1/2 years after being awarded the 100% and enrolling in college. A friend of mine who had the same job and an almost identical career path developed epilepsy, had half his stomach removed as well as his gallbladder, and has lesions in his intestines just fought his way from 20% to 90%. He blacks out at random and experiences grandmal seizures. The VA won't give him 100% because the VA doctors say he can't prove the seizures or blackouts, and the medication and pictures of the lesions in his intestines aren't enough evidence of his having lesions in his intestines.

I don't trust anything even if there's a signature attached. From now on I think I'm going to demand DNA and urine samples anytime I deal with the VA.

[w7sfg]

Just to add another post, I'm now 30% after being reduced from the 100% I was told I'd receive for 5 years while being reevaluated for brain cancer and the subsequent removal of the tumor. I was reduced 2 1/2 years after being awarded the 100% and enrolling in college. A friend of mine who had the same job and an almost identical career path developed epilepsy, had half his stomach removed as well as his gallbladder, and has lesions in his intestines just fought his way from 20% to 90%. He blacks out at random and experiences grandmal seizures. The VA won't give him 100% because the VA doctors say he can't prove the seizures or blackouts, and the medication and pictures of the lesions in his intestines aren't enough evidence of his having lesions in his intestines.

I don't trust anything even if there's a signature attached. From now on I think I'm going to demand DNA and urine samples anytime I deal with the VA.

Don't give up.
W7SFG

[KI4BDS]

I'm a Nam vet, will try to help a few at Martinburg Vet center. KI$BDS

[KI4BDS]

BTW/We have given our first weekend Tech class and it was a tremendous success. Maybe I'll try one at the VA Center.

[N9FDJ]

Thank ; Dan W4NTI; My 100% thoughts about the Gov. and I am 100% Vietnam Disabled Vet.Also!! They don't know until the walk the shoes where we been and seen and been thru. Fred N9FDJ