Nearly 1,000 retirees and disabled veterans in Laurel, along with hundreds more in the surrounding area, are missing out on claiming money granted by the United States government through the economic stimulus program passed earlier this year.

About 16 percent of the 328,777 potential filers in Mississippi have yet to file paperwork needed for the money. Jones County has 1,325 people possibly eligible for the funds, while Covington County has 447, Jasper County has 321, Wayne County has 294, Smith County has 249, and Perry County has 202 people who may be missing out on checks.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the federal agency charged with dispersing the money, most of these people wouldn’t normally file a return because benefits are not taxable. However, a return is mandatory to obtain the economic stimulus money.

The deadline to file a return is Wednesday.

“This really is the last chance for people to still get their stimulus payments this year. Don’t let the economic stimulus payment pass you by,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said.

IRS officials said the money received will usually have no impact on eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid, or other benefit qualifications.

Nationally, the IRS estimates there may be as many as 4.3 million Americans who haven’t filed the claims who benefit from certain Social Security and Veterans Affairs programs.

People who have no tax liability and have no requirement to file a tax return because of low or nontaxable incomes may get $300 for an individual or $600 for married couples, plus the $300 for each qualifying child. However, IRS officials said people in those situations must have at least $3,000 in qualifying income from a combination of earned income, nontaxable combat, and certain Social Security, Veterans Affairs, and railroad benefits.

Also, Wednesday is the last day for people to file a 2007 return for most people. Combat-zone and some disaster area taxpayers can wait until later, however, to file a return or pay any taxes due. According to the IRS, the following situations qualify for a later date:

• Members of the military serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat-zone localities. Normally, the postponement is until at least 180 days after the service member leaves the combat zone.

• Disaster-area taxpayers in four states affected by recent hurricanes and tropical storms. The postponement is until Nov. 17 in parts of Florida and Jan. 5 in parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and applies to taxpayers who previously received automatic tax-filing extensions until Oct. 15.

However, even those people who qualify for a later tax filing deadline must still file by October 15 to take advantage of the economic stimulus program if they are eligible.

People who have filed more than eight weeks ago, but still waiting on a stimulus check, should visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center or call (866) 234-2942. The nearest Taypayer Assistance Center is located at 701 N. Main St. in Hattiesburg. The hours are from 8:30 a.m. until noon and from 1 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 601-264-7991.

Local remaining filers: