Tax Rebate Checks 2008: Direct Deposits Begin

The tax rebate checks the government has promised have begun showing up in people's bank accounts:

The government began depositing tax rebate checks in thousands of bank accounts on Monday as the stimulus program aimed at giving the ailing economy a jump-start got under way early.

The Internal Revenue Service started making the direct deposits on Monday with the goal of completing 800,000 payments each day over the first three days of this week. No deposits will be made Thursday while the IRS prepares a big batch of 5 million direct deposits scheduled on Friday.

The IRS had expected to begin the program in May but was able to start a few days earlier by utilizing a computer system that can process payments on a daily basis. The government's paper checks will start going out on May 9, a week earlier than previously announced.

Read more information about the tax rebate checks of 2008.