Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s plan to send out a one-time $250 tax rebate check fizzled over the weekend when legislators failed to come to a consensus. But thanks to an obscure 1986 voter referendum, residents will likely get a payout anyway.
According to the statute, once state tax revenue reaches a certain threshold, the Department of Revenue must return any surplus to taxpayers. The exact dollar amount is still being determined, but Baker’s office has predicted taxpayers would get 7% of their 2021 income taxes back.
For someone earning $75,000, that works out to about $250 — the amount Baker wanted to send out in the first place.
Massachusetts is just one of many states to address rampant inflation and the growing threat of a recession with tax rebates and stimulus checks: Florida is cueing up $450 inflation relief payments to eligible families, and California is issuing a “middle-class tax refund” worth as much as $1,050.
In all, at least 18 states have issued or are in the process of sending out checks. Read on to find out which ones they are, who’s eligible, how much they can expect to get and when the funds could arrive.
For more info 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
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, The Sacramento Bee reported, with the first payments going out as soon as October.
How much people 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, especially with a new school year approaching,” according to a letter from 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 don’t need to apply for the benefit, which is being 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 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. Sngle 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. More information is available at the Georgia Department of Revenue website.
Hawaii residents could start receiving tax rebate checks as early as late August.
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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.
According to the state Department of Taxation, payments could begin being mailed out in late August.
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.
You can review the status of your 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 1% sales tax on groceries from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
- Sales taxes for qualified clothing and school supplies will be reduced from 6.25% to 1.25% from Aug. 5 to 14.
- A permanent expansion of the earned income credit from 18% to 20% of the federal credit.
- Property tax rebates for homeowners earning less than $250,000 — or $500,000 if filing jointly — will be available in an amount equal to the property tax credit they qualified for on their 2021 Illinois returns, up to $300.
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,
Gov. Eric Holcomb is urging lawmakers to send taxpayers an additional $225.
“Hoosiers have real needs right now during this period of high inflation, from the gas pump to buying groceries, and everyone should benefit from the state’s success,” Holcomb said in a statement in June, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Senate Republicans have pushed back with an alternate plan that would suspend the state sales tax on residential utilities for six months, including the 7% sales tax on electricity, water, gas, internet and phone bills.
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
Plans for a one-time tax rebate of $250 have seemingly dried up, but taxpayers could 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, and any excess must be refunded to taxpayers. Exactly how much is in the pot is unclear but, Gov. Charlie Baker said, “we think the number’s probably north of $2.5 billion that would be in tax rebates to the people of Massachusetts,” WGBH reported.
Baker estimates that residents could get 7% of the 2021 state income tax payment returned. 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.”
Massachusetts already sent $500 stimulus checks to low-income workers in the spring. To qualify, individuals 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 — which are issued per person, regardless of whether they filed individually or jointly — will cost the state about $1 billion.
About 56% of tax returns are expected to get money back, according to the State Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
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.
Could there be another federal stimulus check?
Analysts say not to count on it, especially since another cash infusion could fuel further inflation.
“Overall, there is no great solution to the inflation problem,” Michael Hayes, a professor of public policy at Rutgers University, told The Hill. “Another round of stimulus checks, even if targeted to the lowest income group, would only provide short-term relief at the risk of mid-term/long-term problems.”