"The check is in the mail," or at least it will be soon according to a statement released June 7 by the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS and the Treasury Department will begin sending out advance payments later this summer under a tax law called the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.

The law creates a new tax bracket of 10 percent and makes it retroactive to January 1. Since the old tax bracket was 15 percent, taxpayers could receive a refund of 5 percent of their tax liabilities. But there are maximum amounts, officials explained.

"Single taxpayers who paid federal income taxes for 2000 could receive up to $300, heads of households up to $500 and married-filing-jointly taxpayers up to $600," they said.

IRS workers will start mailing checks the week of July 23 and should complete most of the mailings by the end of September. However, the first correspondence taxpayers will receive is a letter telling them how much they will receive and when.

"Taxpayers will learn by mid-July how much they will receive," officials explained. "We will send them a letter describing the check amount and the week it will be sent.

"We will also send letters of explanation to those not eligible for the advance tax payment." Those not eligible include anyone who did not file a return, those who had no tax liability, those claimed as dependents or those who owe back taxes or other federal liabilities such as back child support.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti said the most important thing for people to understand is that they don’t really have to do anything to receive the payment.

"We want to make this process as simple as possible for taxpayers," Rossotti said. "The initial letters should give people all the important details they need."

He emphasized that while taxpayers should keep a copy of that initial letter for their records, they do not need to call, fill out forms or do anything else to receive the check.

"All they have to do is open the mailbox," he said. "We’ll take care of everything else."

Rossotti cautioned that there is one responsibility for taxpayers and that has to do with where they live.

"Taxpayers do need to ensure we have their correct mailing address," he said. "Service members should notify the post office of moves or file IRS Form 8822."

The IRS will use the last two digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security number to determine when they mail the checks, so people could receive their checks at a different time than neighbors or family members.

"People with Social Security numbers ending in ‘00’ will be among the first to receive checks and those with ‘99’ will be among the last to receive checks," Rossotti added.