19 states are sending—or have already sent—payments to taxpayers in response to record inflation, with no immediate assistance from the federal government.
Even if a few of these payments total hundreds of dollars, inflation is not expected to be significantly affected by them.
According to Andrew Patterson, senior international economist at Vanguard, “Plans focused on specific sectors or groups, such as gas cards or disbursements based on income thresholds, in theory, could help ease the pain caused by prices of specific goods or services…without putting as much pressure on prices more broadly.”
In a world of rising costs, state governments want to relieve taxpayers in the following ways.
Approved State Stimulus and Rebate Check Programs
Legislation to provide tax refunds to residents has been adopted by 19 states. Here is an update on those payments:
1. Alaska: $3,200 Payments
The Permanent Fund Dividend program of Alaska provides an annual payout to the majority of its citizens. However, they also received an additional $650 in energy assistance this year.
The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) increased this year, going from $1,114 per qualified recipient in 2021 to $3,284 in 2022. The dividend is funded by investments made with a percentage of state oil and mineral income, which is why the rise is partially attributable to higher oil prices.
Those who choose to receive their PFD and energy assistance payment via direct deposit should have already received it on September 20 in the form of a single direct transfer. The week of October 6 marked the start of distribution for candidates who requested a paper check.
2. California: Up to $1,050 Rebate
Beginning in October, bank accounts and mailboxes throughout the state began receiving up to $1,050 in rebate payments for California’s middle-class tax refund. These benefits are available to the estimated 23 million people of the Golden State. You may visit the Franchise Tax Board webpage for the State of California to see whether you’re eligible. 90% of payments, according to the Franchise Tax Board, should be made in October.
Individual taxpayers earning $75,000 or less will get a one-time payment of $350. If a couple files jointly and earns less than $150,000 a year, they will be eligible for $700. A further $350 will be given to eligible families if they have qualified dependents.
A progressive benefit with a maximum payment of $250 will be given to taxpayers with incomes between $75,000 and $250,000. If those families have qualified dependents, they may get an extra $250.
The Middle-Class Tax Refund should have been deposited for eligible beneficiaries who received Golden State Stimulus funds by direct deposit between October 7 and October 25. It was planned for all remaining direct deposits to be made between October 28 and November 14.
You should have gotten your Middle-Class Tax Refund by debit card between October 24 and December 10 assuming you received your California Stimulus Payments by debit card. By January 14, 2023, all outstanding debit card payments will be delivered.
3. Colorado: $750 Rebate Payments
Colorado provided tax refunds of $750 to individuals and $1,500 to couples. Residents of Colorado who turned 18 or older and submitted their 2021 state income tax return were qualified for the payout for the whole 2021 tax year.
To avoid fraud, only actual checks were distributed. Residents should have gotten their refunds by September 30 if they submitted their state tax forms by June 30. By January 31, 2023, taxpayers who requested an extension should get their checks.
4. Delaware: $300 Rebate Payments
Delaware paid $300 in “relief rebates” to those who submitted their 2020 state tax forms. The budget surplus made the one-time payment conceivable. For combined tax returns, couples got $300 apiece.
Most Delaware citizens who qualified for payments received them in May 2022. Online applications for a second round were accepted from November 1 through December 15, 2022.
A valid Delaware home postal address, a current Delaware driver’s license that was issued before December 31, 2021, and the applicant’s Social Security number are requirements. Following the end of the application period and the evaluation of all applications, payments will be made to qualified candidates.
5. Florida: $450 Payments
As part of the Hope Florida—A Pathway to Prosperity initiative operated by the Department of Children and Families, certain Florida families with children received a one-time payment of $450 for each kid.
Foster parents, family and non-family caretakers of children, participants in the state Guardian Assistance Program, and TANF-eligible households were among those who might get financial aid. The funding comes from TANF-paying families’ designated pandemic assistance monies.
If you were qualified, you should have gotten a payment via cheque in the mail without having to do anything. Delivery was planned for July 25 or earlier, the start of the state’s back-to-school tax break.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, a letter that came with the check read, “To counteract the expenses of growing inflation, particularly with a new school year coming, the State of Florida is sending you $450 for each kid in your care.”
6. Georgia: $250 Rebate Payments
Georgia citizens who submitted both their 2020 and 2021 tax returns were qualified to receive rebate payments depending on their tax filing status because of a record state budget surplus:
- Single filers: $250 maximum
- Maximum $375 for the household’s head
- married couples filing jointly: $500 maximum
You could have gotten a lower refund if you owed the state money for things like past-due child support payments or income tax. Residents for just a portion of the year could have gotten a reduced reimbursement.
Refunds for eligible taxpayers who submitted their 2021 taxes by April 18 should have arrived in August.
7. Hawaii: $300 Rebate Payments
Hawaii’s legislature decided to distribute tax refunds to all taxpayers in June. Taxpayers who make less than $100,000 a year will get $300, while those who make more would receive $100. The reimbursement is also available to dependents.
Those who submitted their state income tax forms for 2021 by August 31st, 2022, ought to have gotten their refunds in September, and those who asked for physical checks ought to have gotten them in November. After their return is approved by the tax department, taxpayers who submit their returns between July 31 and December 31 could expect to get their check up to 12 weeks later or their direct deposit up to 10 weeks later.
8. Idaho: $75 Rebate Payments
Gov. Brad Little of Idaho approved a measure in February allocating $350 million for tax refunds to residents of Idaho. There were two requirements to qualify:
- Full-time Idaho residency and filed 2020 and 2021 tax year returns, OR
- Full-time Idaho residency and filed grocery-credit refund returns.
In March, the payments started. Each taxpayer got $75 or 12% of their Idaho state taxes for the year 2020, whichever was higher (check Form 40, line 20 for your reported tax amount). Every taxpayer and dependant was eligible for the reimbursement.
The tax commission first provided paper rebate cheques to taxpayers who got their tax refunds through direct deposit. Most of the refunds have already been given out.
Idaho legislators decided to approve another tax refund for all citizens who filed state tax returns in 2020 during a special session on September 1. Couples filing jointly will earn $600, while individuals filing alone will receive $300.
Late September saw the beginning of the processing of those payments, and through the remainder of the year and into early 2023, around 75,000 payments will be distributed weekly.
On the website of the Idaho State Tax Commission, state residents may check the status of their refund.
9. Illinois: $50 and $300 Rebates
Illinois citizens who live in 2021 are eligible for two refunds.
The individual income tax refund is the first rebate, which is given to people with an annual adjusted gross income of less than $200,000 ($400,000 for a married couple filing jointly). Each recipient will get $50, and each qualified dependant will earn an extra $100. (up to three kids per family).
Property tax rebates are the second refund, which is given to people who earn $250,000 or less ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly). The reimbursement is limited to $300 and is equivalent to the property tax credit you were eligible to receive on your tax return.
According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state began providing refunds the week of September 12; it will take “several months” to distribute them all.
10. Indiana: $325 Rebate Payments
At the end of 2021, Indiana discovered that it had a sizable budget surplus, and it decided to give its citizens two refunds.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said in December 2021 that taxpayers in Indiana will get a $125 one-time tax refund after the filing of their 2021 taxes.
There is no criterion for income. To be eligible, residents must have submitted their state tax returns for the years 2020 by January 3, 2022, and 2021 Indiana tax returns by April 18, 2022. The state states that payments began in May.
A single $250 deposit might be made to jointly file taxpayers.
In August 2022, a second rebate of $200 per taxpayer was granted.
The majority of taxpayers had their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts, and the second installments began to arrive in late August. You ought to have gotten a paper check if you switched banks or didn’t have your direct deposit information on record.
At this point, those who qualify simply for the $200 payment will not get them. To collect the benefit, they must submit a 2022 tax return by January 1, 2024.
Visit the state Department of Revenue website for further details.
11. Maine: $850 Direct Relief Payments
On April 20, Gov. Janet Mills approved a supplementary budget that authorized direct relief payments to Maine taxpayers in the amount of $850.
A full-time resident’s eligibility required that their federal adjusted gross income is under $100,000 ($150,000 if they filed as the head of household, $200,000 if they filed jointly). Couples who filed jointly each got a relief cheque of $1,700.
Whether or not a taxpayer owed state income tax, they were still entitled to the payout.
Residents who failed to submit a state tax return for 2021 had until October 31 to do so to be eligible for their payout.
The one-time payments, which are being paid for out of the state’s surplus, began to be sent to the address shown on your 2021 Maine tax return in June.
The earned income tax credit (EITC) beneficiaries in Maine will also get a larger benefit under the supplementary budget.
12. Massachusetts: 14% Tax Rebates
Due to an increase in income tax collections, Massachusetts state legislators are mailing tax refund payments. A little under $3 billion will be paid out.
Taxpayers who qualify will get 14% of their 2021 tax obligations, minus any adjustments such as overdue child support and back taxes.
The refund is available to both non-resident and resident taxpayers. To be qualified for the refund, your 2021 state tax return must be submitted on or before September 15, 2023.
By mid-December 2022, taxpayers who submitted tax returns on or before October 17, 2022, ought to have received their refunds. Everyone else should anticipate receiving their returns about a month after filing.
13. Minnesota: $488 Payments for Frontline Workers
Due to a law that Governor Tim Walz enacted in early May, certain frontline employees got a one-time payment of $488 in October.
Between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021, qualified employees were those who put in at least 120 hours of labor in Minnesota while being ineligible for remote employment.
Between December 2019 and January 2022, employees with direct Covid-19 patient-care responsibilities were required to have an adjusted gross income of less than $175,000; employees without such duties were required to have an adjusted gross income of less than $85,000 yearly. The payment application period is now closed.
14. New Jersey: $500 Rebate Checks
Nearly a million households will get one-time rebate checks up to $500 thanks to a budget proposal that the New Jersey state legislature adopted in the autumn of 2021.
Those who submit their taxes with a taxpayer identification number rather than a Social Security number also received reimbursements from New Jersey. Nonresident and resident aliens, as well as their wives and dependents, were eligible for the Excluded New Jerseyans Fund.
The fund no longer accepts new submissions.
15. New Mexico: $500 Rebates
A statute authorizing several payments to state taxpayers was enacted by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham at the beginning of March.
Starting on September 26, residents of low-income New Mexico may apply for relief payments of at least $400. The submission window closed on October 7, 2022.
The state budget includes a $20 million line item for economic assistance activities that includes low-income relief payments. The budget allocation is the only application acceptance restriction, and payments will be made first to the families with the lowest incomes.
All taxpayers received a second payment in the form of a refundable income tax rebate. Joint filers each earned $1,000, while single filers received $500. Divided into two equal installments, these rebates will be given in the months of June and August 2022. For taxpayers who submitted a 2021 state return, the money was immediately remitted to them.
You’ll get your refund by check or direct transfer if you submit your state income tax return for 2021 by May 31st, 2023, even if you don’t usually do so. Your refund will be reduced by any taxes you owe from your 2021 return.
Learn more about the rebates that New Mexico families will get in 2022.
16. Oregon: Direct Payments of $600
The Oregon legislature decided to allow certain people to receive one-time payments of $600 in March 2022. One payment per family was available to taxpayers who claimed the earned income tax credit on their 2020 state tax return and who resided in Oregon for the last six months of 2020.
These direct payments to low-income citizens were made by the state using federal pandemic funds, and more than 236,000 families received payments. By July 31, 2022, all payments had been made through direct deposit or a postal check.
17. Rhode Island: $250 Rebate per Child
Due to a governmental budget excess, Rhode Island is providing a one-time payment of $250 per kid.
A payment of up to $750 may be given to households for each of their three dependent children. You must have claimed those kids as dependents on your 2021 federal and state tax forms.
To qualify for the payment, taxpayers must earn $100,000 or less ($200,000 or less for a couple with two incomes).
Distribution of Child Tax Rebate checks started in October. Refunds will start to arrive in December for those who submitted their 2021 state tax forms on the extension by October 2022. On the website of Rhode Island’s Division of Taxation, you may see the status of your rebate.
18. South Carolina: Rebate Checks of up to $800
A budget proposal that was passed in June included $1 billion for a tax refund that would provide South Carolinians a one-time payout.
The South Carolina Department of Revenue provides guidelines for determining your refund amount. The maximum rebate is $800. Before December 31, rebates will be given out.
Residents of South Carolina will get their refunds in March 2023 if they opt to submit their tax returns on or before the February 15 disaster relief extension.
Your rebate will be sent to the same account as you used to receive your 2021 refund.
By following the guidelines on the state Department of Revenue’s website for rebate news, you may calculate your refund.
19. Virginia: $250 Rebates
A one-time tax refund was granted by the Virginia General Assembly in June. The debate should be sent to qualified taxpayers who submitted their income tax returns by October 17 at the end of the year.
The refund won’t be given to anyone who files during the disaster extension period (February 15 instead of the initial extension date of October 18).
Direct deposit recipients will get a $250 rebate ($500 for married couples filing jointly), which will be sent to the same bank account; all other qualified taxpayers will receive a check in the mail.
