Generally speaking, the stimulus tax rebate calculation is very straightforward based on whether you are a single taxpayer or married filing jointly. If Congress and the new President decide to renew rebates in 2009, the calculation may not be so easy again.

There are calculators on the web for 2008 stimulus tax rebates already. TurboTax has such a calculator and will have an up-to-date calculator for any rebates that come available in 2009.

Here is how the TurboTax calculator works. Go to the home page for TurboTax, then click on the tab marked Tax Calculators and Tips. From there, under the tax estimator heading on the left hand side, click on how much will you pay in 2008.

A pop up then appears asking you for the tax year you are trying to compute, filing status, age, and number of children – then forwards you on to another screen asking for income information, then to yet another screen with deductions you can include, and finally taxes and credits.

From there your results are calculated. Now if you are looking to calculate your stimulus tax rebate specifically, this can be found by typing in “2008 stimulus tax rebate calculator” on the TurboTax home page. It will take you to a short worksheet, essentially getting to the question of whether you paid more than $600 ($1,200 if you are married filing a joint return) in taxes in 2007.

To be sure, however, follow the steps the TurboTax Calculator guides you through, and at the end it will tell you what rebate you are entitled to receive.