State Stimulus Payment Update: These States Are Sending Out Checks This Week

In August alone, some taxpayers will receive tax rebates of more than $750.

With inflation still raging across the US, many states have been giving back money to residents in the form of stimulus checks and supplemental tax refunds. While some states issued payments earlier in the year, others are sending out checks and direct deposits now.

Taxpayers in Colorado and Pennsylvania should expect their payments in August, while Hawaii and Illinois are set to send refunds in early September.

Direct deposit payments for Indiana’s Automatic Taxpayer Refund started going out in May — but the 1.7 million Hoosiers waiting on physical checks are only getting them now, thanks to a paper supply shortage.

“Like many industries, [our] state government was not spared the headaches that come from dealing with a shortage – in our case, a paper shortage,” Indiana state auditor Tera Klutz said, Fox 59 reported.

“We typically don’t print this many checks at one time, which created the challenge of locating the amount of paper required,” Klutz added.

The first round of checks — worth $325 for individuals, or $650 for married couples filing jointly — should have hit residents’ mailboxes over the weekend. The state is able to print about 50,000 checks per day, according to Klutz, who expects the last ones to reach taxpayers by early October.

Which other states are still giving back money? How much can eligible taxpayers expect to get? When will checks arrive? Read on to find out.

For more on economic relief, check out plans for statewide child tax credits, as well as gas rebate checks and gas tax holidays across the US.

California

Millions of Californians will receive inflation relief checks, with married couples with children getting as much as $1,050. The payments, coming out of California’s $97 billion budget surplus, are going out as direct deposits or debit cards, with the first payments going out as soon as October.

How much residents will receive is based on their income, tax-filing status and household size.

  • Single taxpayers who earn less than $75,000 a year and couples who file jointly and make less than $150,000 a year will receive $350 per taxpayer and another $350 if they have any dependents. A married couple with children, therefore, could receive as much as $1,050.
  • Individual filers who make between $75,000 and $125,000 a year — and couples who earn between $150,000 and $250,000 — will receive $250 per taxpayer, plus another $250 if they have any dependents. A family with children could therefore receive a total of $750.
  • Individual filers who earn between $125,000 and $250,000 and couples who earn between $250,000 and $500,000 annually would receive $200 each. A family with children in this bracket could receive a maximum of $600.

Single taxpayers earning $250,000 or above and couples earning a combined $500,000 are ineligible for the payments.

Colorado

State residents who have filed their 2021 return by June 30 will get a check for $750 by September 30, thanks to the 1992 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment, while joint filers will get $1,500.

In May, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill to get refunds to taxpayers sooner, with many expected in mid-August. “I’m excited to say the checks are in the mail!” Polis, a Democrat, told KKTV.

Filers who received an extension and filed by the Oct. 17 deadline will receive their refund by Jan. 31, 2023.

Delaware

After Gov. John Carney approved the Delaware Relief Rebate Program in April, a $300 stimulus check was cut for all residents who filed their 2020 tax returns.

Even If you filed jointly, each person should receive a payment, which started going out in May.

Florida

Nearly 60,000 Florida families received one-time payments of $450 per child “to offset the costs of rising inflation, especially with a new school year approaching,” according to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

To qualify, families must receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (also known as welfare), be a foster parent or a relative or non-relative caregiver or participate in the Guardianship Assistance Program.

You didn’t need to apply for the benefit, which has been automatically mailed out to eligible recipients. According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, checks should have arrived in time for Florida’s “back to school” sales-tax holiday, held July 25 to August 7.

Georgia

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill in March authorizing rebates to taxpayers who filed their state returns for both 2020 and 2021. Single taxpayers received $250 in May, with heads of households getting $375 and married couples filing jointly netting $500.

Partial-year residents, those who pay little or no income taxes, or individuals who owe taxes, child support or other payments may have received a smaller rebate.

The Department of Revenue started issuing rebates in May and, according to its website, most residents who filed their 2021 state return by April 18 should receive theirs by early August.

Hawaii

Residents who earned under $100,000 in 2021 — or $200,000 if they file jointly — will get a $300 tax rebate this year, with dependents eligible for the rebate, as well. A qualifying family of four could receive $1,200.

Individuals who earned more than $100,000 and couples who earned more than $200,000 will receive a one-time $100 payout.

According to Hawaii’s Department of Taxation’s Act 115 Refund page, the state will start issuing payments in the first week of September. Refunds will be issued in the order that 2021 tax returns were received.

Idaho

Gov. Brad Little signed a bill in February giving $75 to each taxpayer and dependent, or 12% of their 2020 state income tax return, whichever is greater.

Checks started going out in March and residents can review the status of their rebate online.

Illinois

Illinois’ estimated $1.83 billion relief package, which went into effect July 1, includes income and property tax rebates and a temporary cut in several sales taxes.

Individuals who earned less than $200,000 in 2021 will receive a $50 income tax rebate while couples filing jointly with incomes under $400,000 will receive $100. Filers can also earn $100 per dependent they claimed on their 2021 taxes, up to three dependents. In all, a family of five can earn as much as $400.

Comptroller Susanna Mendoza expects to start cutting checks the week of Sept. 12, the Illinois Department of Revenue told CNET in an email, with distribution finishing roughly eight weeks later.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Family Relief Plan also includes several tax holidays and rebates, including a suspension of the state’s sales tax on groceries from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, and a permanent expansion of the earned income credit from 18% to 20% of the federal credit.

Indiana

Hoosiers are eligible for $125 rebates regardless of income, thanks to the state’s automatic taxpayer refund law,

Direct deposit payments started going out in May. Printed checks were slated to be sent to the 1.7 million taxpayers that didn’t provide banking information back in July, but were held up until mid-August, Gov. Eric Holcomb told Fox 59, “because the paper supply required was delayed.”

During the wait, the Indiana Legislature tacked on another $200 to each check.

The combined payments —  $325 for individuals, or $650 for married couples filing jointly — will be included in one paper check. It will take the state until early October to print all 1.7 million paper checks. Indiana residents who haven’t received a rebate by Nov. 1 should contact the state’s Department of Revenue.

Maine

Maine taxpayers who have filed their 2021 state tax returns and have an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 are eligible for an $850 direct relief payment. Couples filing jointly will receive a single payment of $1,700.

Checks were sent out starting in July, and WMTW reports that the state has mailed $850 payments to all qualifying residents. You can check on the status of your payment at Maine’s government portal.

Massachusetts

Gov. Charlie Baker’s plans for a one-time $250 rebate dried up, but taxpayers will likely still get more than $2.5 billion in excess tax revenue back from the state.

Massachusetts law limits growth in state tax revenues to match wages and salaries — any excess must be refunded to taxpayers. Exactly how much is in the pot is unclear but, Baker said, “we think the number’s probably north of $2.5 billion,” WGBH reported. Baker estimates residents would get 7% of their 2021 state income tax payment returned.

For someone earning $75,000, that works out to about $250 — the amount Baker wanted to send out in the first place.

The State Auditor has until September 20 to calculate what, if any, surplus there is. The Department of Revenue could start issuing tax credits immediately after that. Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan said he is “looking at what’s the quickest and most efficient way to get that money back to the taxpayer,” MassLive reported.

Massachusetts already sent $500 stimulus checks to low-income workers in the spring.

Minnesota

Certain Minnesota frontline workers are eligible to receive a one-time payment of $750, including emergency responders, healthcare staff, court officials and retail workers.

Almost 1.2 million workers applied for Minnesota’s frontline bonus check by the July 22 deadline, per the Duluth News Tribune. The large number of applicants who are approved — if more than 667,000 — could shrink the $750 payout. Applicants should be notified in mid-August, with payments coming shortly after.

Gov. Tim Walz has also called for a special session of the legislature to pass a proposed income tax rebate of $1,000 for individual filers earning less than $165,000 and $2,000 for couples earning less than $275,000.

Walz, a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, hasn’t had much support among Republican lawmakers, who call the plan an election-year gimmick.

“I think it is absolutely unconscionable that we are sitting on money in the bank of Minnesota and it could go right back to families in cash right now,” Walz said at a July 27 news conference, the Duluth News Tribune reported.

New Jersey

Some two million New Jersey households are getting property tax rebates, thanks to the Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR), a $2 billion property tax relief program signed by Gov. Phil Murphy at the end of June.

Homeowners making up to $150,000 will receive $1,500 rebates on their property taxes, and while those earning between $150,000 and $250,000 will receive $1,000. Renters who earn up to $150,000 will receive $450 checks.

The rebates will be coming later than many other states’ payouts: the New Jersey state treasury spokesperson Jennifer Sciortino could only confirm it would be “no later than May 2023,” Patch.com reported, via check or direct deposit

New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment is issuing a refundable income tax rebate to all taxpayers — $500 for individual filers and $1,000 for joint filers, heads of households and surviving spouses. The payments have been broken into two parts: The first check went out in June, and the second is going out in August.

Some residents, though, are still waiting for their first check.

“The taxpayer might have filed a return but for some reason, there was an error on their return, so it couldn’t yet be accepted,” Stephanie Schardin Clarke, the state’s Taxation and Revenue secretary, told KOB 4. “So we’re working down those,”

As of Aug. 1, at least 30,000 June payments were in line to be mailed out.

No action is needed: Eligible taxpayers who have or will file their 2021 income taxes before May 1, 2023, automatically receive the rebates, either via direct deposit or paper check.

New Mexicans who do not file income tax returns can also receive economic relief through the New Mexico Human Services Department, but the budget is capped at $20 million, and payments are being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

The state already issued $250 rebates in July to taxpayers who filed individually and earned less than $75,000. (Married couples filing jointly with incomes under $150,000 received $500).

New York

In June, about 3 million New York state homeowners started receiving property-tax rebates of up to $1,050.

New York City households are getting an average of $425.

Those who qualify should have automatically been sent a check by the end of June, but details on eligibility are available at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website.

Pennsylvania

In July, more than 260,000 older homeowners, renters and people with disabilities started receiving part of a massive $121.7 million payout issued through the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program.

Eligible residents should visit the MyPath website or file a paper application before the extended deadline of Dec. 31, 2022, with payments coming as a direct deposit or check.

The maximum standard rebate is $650, according to the Department of Revenue, but supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners can boost that amount to $975. (The department will automatically calculate supplemental rebates for qualifying applicants.)

Check the status of your rebate using the state government’s Where’s My Rebate? tool, inputting your Social Security number, date of birth and the year you are claiming for.

South Carolina

Income tax refund checks of up to $800 will be sent out to South Carolina taxpayers starting in late November or December 2022.

Any resident who paid taxes will receive a rebate, with the amount increasing based on their tax liability, up to an $800 cap per filing. It will be a full refund for those who paid $800 or less, according to The Center Square, which includes 33% of taxpayers.

The rebates are being issued per person, regardless of whether you filed individually or jointly. Those who did not pay income taxes — around 44% of South Carolina residents — will not receive a check.

Visit the South Carolina Department of Revenue website to see if you are eligible for the rebate and calculate the amount.

Virginia

After legislation cleared the General Assembly in July, Virginians will receive one-time checks this fall: Individual filers will receive $250, while married couples who file jointly will get $500. Payments will be sent by mailed check and direct deposit.

Eligible residents who filed by July 1 should receive their rebate by Oct. 31, according to the Virginia Department of Taxation. You must file your state taxes by November 1 to receive a check.

Post courtesy of CNET

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