Which States Are Giving Out Tax Rebates?

The federal government is unlikely to send more Stimulus payments this year, but at least 17 states have issued or are in the process of sending out payments. 

California

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have agreed to send millions of Californians inflation relief checks as high as $1,050 for a married couple with at least one child. The payments, which are coming out of California’s $97 billion budget surplus, will go out as direct deposits or debit cards by 2023.

How much they 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 aren’t eligible for the payments.

Colorado

State residents who have filed their 2021 return by June 30 will get a check for $750 by September, while joint filers will get $1,500. Filers who received an extension and filed by the Oct. 17 deadline will receive their refund by Jan. 31, 2023.

Delaware

Gov. John Carney signed a bill in April approving $300 stimulus checks to residents who filed their 2020 tax returns. If you filed jointly, each person receives one of the payments, which started going out in May.

Florida

Nearly 60,000 Florida families will receive one-time payments of $450 per child, to offset the costs of rising inflation.

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 don’t need to apply for the benefit, which is automatically mailed out to eligible recipients. Checks should arrive in time for Florida’s “back to school” sales-tax holiday, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, being held from 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.

Massachusetts is close to finalizing a one-off tax rebate that could see checks reaching eligible residents before the end of September. Individual measures have already cleared both the state House and Senate and if a bill is signed by Gov. Charlie Baker, individual filers would receive a $250 rebate and married couples who file jointly would get $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. 

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.

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

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.

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.

Indiana

Starting in May, payments of $125 started going out to all residents regardless of income, as a result of Indiana’s automatic taxpayer refund law.

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 expected to arrive before mid-July

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts State Legislature is working to provide one-time tax rebates of $250 to eligible individual taxpayers and $500 to married couples.

Eligibility for the rebate, which comes from the state’s $3.6 billion revenue surplus, is based on annual income reported in 2021: Taxpayers will have to earn at least $38,000 and no more than $100,000 for individuals or $150,000 for couples to receive a rebate.

The plan needs to clear the Legislature and be signed off on by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker but checks could be out before the first of October. 

Massachusetts already sent $500 stimulus checks to low-income workers in the spring. To qualify, they had to have a household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level and not have received unemployment compensation in 2021.

Minnesota 

Certain Minnesota frontline workers will receive a one-time payment of $750, with applications being accepted through July 22 and checks starting to go out in late July.

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.

New Jersey

Gov. Phil Murphy has already signed off on a $500 tax rebate for nearly 1 million New Jersey residents. He has also supported payments to taxpayers who use a taxpayer identification number instead of a Social Security number, which would include nonresident and resident aliens and their families.

In June, Murphy announced a plan to provide more than $2 billion in rebates to approximately 2 million New Jersey households. The plan would offer as much as $1,500 to families who pay property tax but also benefit renters.

New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment issued $250 rebate checks to state taxpayers in both May and June, for a total of $500. Another rebate is scheduled for distribution in July, though it comes with certain stipulations.

• Married couples filing joint returns, heads of household, and surviving spouses with incomes under $150,000 are all eligible to receive a $500 income tax rebate.
• Single filers and married individuals who file separately, meanwhile, are eligible for a $250 rebate if they have incomes under $75,000.

No action is needed: Eligible taxpayers who have or will file their 2021 income taxes before May 1, 2023, will automatically receive the rebates, either via direct deposit or paper check. A third and final round of payments is slated for distribution in August.

New Mexicans who do not file income tax returns can also receive economic relief, but the budget is capped at $20 million, and payments are being distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis:

Married couples or single individuals with one or more dependents are eligible for $1,000 and individuals without dependents can receive $500. Applications are available through the New Mexico Human Services Department.

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, though, 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.

Any resident who paid at least $100 in taxes will receive a $100 rebate, with the amount growing based on their tax liability up to the $800 cap per tax filing.

The rebates are issued per person, regardless of whether they are filed individually or jointly.

Virginia

After legislation cleared the General Assembly in July, Virginians will receive one-time checks, starting in late September. Individual filers will receive $250, while married couples who file together getting will get $500. 

Clergy Financial Resources serves as a resource for clients to help analyze the complexity of clergy tax law, church payroll & HR issues. Our professionals are committed to helping clients stay informed about tax news, developments and trends in various specialty areas.

This article is intended to provide readers with guidance in tax matters. The article does not constitute, and should not be treated as professional advice regarding the use of any particular tax technique. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information. Clergy Financial Resources and the author do not assume responsibility for any individual’s reliance upon the information provided in the article. Readers should independently verify all information before applying it to a particular fact situation, and should independently determine the impact of any particular tax planning technique. If you are seeking legal advice, you are encouraged to consult an attorney.

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