Get Stimulated! Your Questions Answered

President Obama signed the stimulus bill on Feb. 17. Now the hard part begins: implementation. We asked readers for their questions and then got experts to answer the most common queries.

Questions: The Cheat Sheet

1. Where to Read the Bill

Question: "Where can I obtain a copy of the stimulus bill just passed?" - John Fortune, Las Vegas, Nev.

Answer: The entire text of the stimulus bill is posted on the Web site of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. You can also visit the Library of Congress to read this bill - or the text of any piece of legislation being debated by Congress.

2. Homebuyer Credit

Question: "I will qualify as a first-time homebuyer and am currently set to get a small tax refund for 2008. Does that mean if I purchased now that I would get an extra $8,000 added on top of my current refund?" - Adam Billings, Knoxville, Tenn.

Experts: Robert Dietz, economist, National Association of Homebuilders

Answer: Yes. Taxpayers get everything they're already entitled to plus the credit. Think of it as a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax liability that continues beyond zero. So, if your total tax bill is $5,000 before the credit, your tax bill drops below zero and the government owes you $3,000.

If you owe $5,000 and had $5,100 withheld during the year, you would ordinarily receive a $100 refund but instead, the IRS would cut you a check for $8,100. If you had $4,900 withheld and would have had to send the government $100 when you filed, you would get $7,900 back.

This refundable feature is very favorable to first-time homebuyers because the credit will give the majority of them more back than they paid in. It is also applicable to 2008 or 2009 taxes, so taxpayers who have already filed for 2008 can file an amended return and get the credit.

3. Paying Back Previous Tax Credit

Question: "I closed on my first home in November 2008 and claimed the $7,500 tax credit when I recently sent in my taxes. I've read that the new $8,000 housing credit in the stimulus package is for homes bought after January 1, 2009. Am I going to completely miss out on this credit and still have to repay the $7,500, since it was more of a loan than a credit?" - Angela Cook, Rockford, Ill.

Expert: Robert Dietz, economist, National Association of Homebuilders

Answer: The short answer is yes; the house must be purchased between Jan. 1, 2009 and Nov. 30, 2009 to qualify for the new plan, so you miss on the latest credit and will have to repay the previous credit. Unfortunately, the way the stimulus bill was drafted makes it like two tax credit programs that run consecutively. The 2009 purchaser receives a substantially more valuable credit.

The good news is that your $7,500 tax credit, which was part of the Housing Recovery Act passed last summer, is still a good deal. You don't have to start repaying it for two years from the date of sale, and you have 15 more years to pay it all back. The value of this, which amounts to a tax-free loan, is about $4,000.

4. Car Credit

Question: "Does the stimulus bill include a new vehicle tax credit? If so how does it work? As I understand it, you get a tax credit equal to the amount of sales tax you pay. I live in a state that does not have sales tax, so what benefit do I get from buying a new car? Also, does the vehicle need to be a new model - i.e. a 2009 - or can it be a 2008?" - Jacquie L. Sawh, Portland, Ore.

Expert: CNNMoney.com auto and Detroit reporter Peter Valdes-Dapena

Answer: It includes a tax deduction, not a tax credit. Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions on your tax liability, while tax deductions allow you to reduce your taxable income, and therefore lower the amount of taxes you pay.

You will be able to deduct the amount of the sales or excise tax on a new car from your income before calculating your taxes. This will be an "above the line" deduction, so you will be able claim the amount even if you don't otherwise itemize your deductions, just as you do with payments to a 401(k) plan or IRA, for instance.

Since it's a deduction, the amount of the benefit depends on your overall income and how much tax you usually pay. Typical savings will range from about $300 to $600, according to estimates put together by the office of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, co-sponsor of the original bill.

While the benefit applies to the purchase of any new car - one not previously owned by anyone else, whether it's a 2008 or 2009 model - the deduction only applies to sales tax on the amount of the purchase, up $49,500. If you spend more, only the sales tax on that amount is deductible. It also applies only to families making less than $250,000 a year or individuals making less than $125,000.

You can't deduct sales tax if you don't pay it, of course. So car buyers in states without a sales tax get no benefit. But they do save a lot more money by not paying sales tax.

According to estimates by auto-sales trackers at R.L. Polk, the plan is expected to generate about 96,000 sales this year, an increase of about 0.1% from the 10.7 million sales Polk had previously expected.

5. Infrastructure Spending

Question: "How much of the infrastructure funds goes towards roads and bridges? How will these funds be allocated to the states?" -- Suzi Miller, Peoria, Ill.

Expert: CNNMoney.com energy and infrastructure reporter Steve Hargreaves

Answer: The stimulus bill allocates $27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction projects, which is part of an overall infrastructure package of around $80 billion for everything from mass transit and modernizing federal buildings to improving drinking water and sewage systems.

In an effort to distribute the money quickly, most will be doled out directly to state transportation departments, which say they have thousands of projects that can be up and running within three to six months. The projects are supposed to be posted online at http://www.recovery.gov and be subject to audits by the Government Accountability Office.

6. Unemployment Benefits

Question: "I noticed that unemployment benefits will be extended by 33 weeks in states deemed to have high unemployment rates. Exactly which states are these? I think a lot of people are thinking that this extension applies to every state since it was in the stimulus. Is this not the case? Please clarify for everyone." - Janet Nafeha, Houston

Experts: CNNMoney.com policy writers Tami Luhby and Jeanne Sahadi

Answer: While the unemployed may not qualify for the Make Work Pay credit, the stimulus bill does include several things for them. First, it increases benefits by about $25 per week. (The current average weekly benefit is $297). That is $10 per week more than the wage-earners will get. Over 26 weeks, they get up to $400. Over 26 weeks, the unemployment benefit is worth $650.

The bill also extends unemployment benefits for an additional 20 weeks beyond the standard 26. Further, it provides for 13 more weeks for those living in a high-unemployment state, which is defined as a state with an unemployment rate higher than 6%.

Finally, the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009 would be exempt from federal income taxes.

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