If you’ve been feeling the squeeze of higher prices on your household budget, you may get some relief soon. Gas prices have skyrocketed, housing costs are very high and even everyday items like food at the grocery store are significantly more expensive.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get a rebate check to cover the increased expenses?
While the causes of the high inflation rate are complex and the government cannot make prices lower for gas or groceries, the federal government is considering following the lead of sixteen state governments and giving relief to citizens in the form of a new stimulus check.
Although this potential new taxpayer relief stimulus check will likely be much smaller than the ones sent out under the American Rescue Plan or the other COVID stimulus programs, it can help ease some of the pain of higher prices, especially for lower-income families.
Here’s a rundown of the economic stimulus checks that have been approved so far, and a proposed new stimulus from the federal government.
Federal Gas Rebate Program (Proposed)
In March of 2022, as it became clear that the inflation rate was not going down quickly, Representatives John Larson (D-CT), Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL) introduced the Gas Rebate Act of 2022, which would send a gas tax rebate of $100 per month to eligible taxpayers through the end of this year.
Families with dependents would get an additional $100 per dependent monthly while the program is active. To qualify, you would have to earn less than $80,000 if you file taxes as an individual or $160,000 for joint filers.
Those earning $75,000 or less as an individual or $150,000 or less as joint filers would get the entire $100, and anyone with a higher income up to the limit would get a little less.
As of March of 2023, there has been no update to this proposed bill.
State Tax Rebate Programs (Approved)
If you live in one of these sixteen states, you may qualify for a state stimulus check or gas rebate card.
California
In California, couples filing jointly and earning $150,000 or less a year may be able to receive a gas stimulus payment of $700. Individuals earning up to $75,000 can get a stimulus payment of $350.
Households with dependents who meet income limitations may qualify for an additional $350 for a total maximum amount of $1,050. The amount of the state stimulus check reduces at higher income levels.
Qualified Californians should have recieved stimulus payments direct deposit or debit cards in October 2022 to January 2023.
Colorado
Some Colorado residents can expect to receive a tax relief rebate of at least $500 each. The exact amount depends on state revenue totals. Payments are slated to go out in September.
Delaware
Delaware is ahead of the pack, with many taxpayers already having received a tax stimulus check starting in May. The stimulus payments amount in this state is $300 for couples filing jointly.
Florida
In Florida, relief for taxpayers is limited to relative or nonrelative caregivers of children under the Department of Children and Families, foster parents and families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance.
The amount is $450 per qualifying child was automatically sent out by mail between the end of July and the beginning of August 2022.
Georgia
In Georgia, you must filed your 2022 tax returns by the April 8, 2023 deadline (or by October 16, 2023 if an extension was granted) be eligible for the fuel rebates. Single filers may be able to get up to $250, heads of household may get up to $375 and married filing jointly may get up to $500.
Money owed to the state will be deducted from the amount you get, and part-time residents could also get a smaller check.
You can check stimulus payments status online at the Georgia Department of Revenue website.
Hawaii
Hawaiian taxpayers who earned less than $100,000 per year in 2021 could have receive a $300 stimulus check. Those who earned more could get $100.
Distribution started the first week of September 2022.
Idaho
Idaho authorized two rebates in 2022 for eligible taxpayers. On September 1, 2022, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 1 authorizing a tax rebate to full-year residents of Idaho. The amount for the 2022 Special Session rebate is the the greater of the following:
- $300 for individual filers and $600 for joint filers
- 10% of the tax amount reported on Form 40 (line 20), or Form 43 (line 42) for eligible service members using that form
Then, on February 4, 2022, he signed House Bill 436. The amount for this rebate is the greater of the following:
- $75 per taxpayer and each dependent
- 12% of the tax amount reported on Form 40 (line 20), or Form 43 (line 42) for eligible service members using that form
To qualify, you must have been a full-time resident of Idaho and filed both 2020 and 2021 tax returns by December 31, 2022, to receive the rebates.
These payments started going out in March 2022 via direct deposit or paper check, depending on how each taxpayer set up their tax filing.
Illinois
Illinois residents who make up to $200,000 as an individual or $400,000 per couple may qualify for a taxpayer relief payment of $50 per person, with an additional $100 per eligible dependent (up to a maximum of three).
Rebates begin being issued the week of September 12, 2022, and will take several months to reach all qualifed taxpayers.
Indiana
In 2022, the Indiana General Assembly approved two Automatic Taxpayer Refunds (ATRs). Residents who filed a state tax return for the 2020 tax year by Dec. 31, 2021, were eligible for and should have received both refunds ($125 and $200 ATRs) in 2022 as a direct deposit or a check (either separately or combined) for a total of $325 (or $650 for those filing jointly).
However, eligibility requirements for the $200 ATR differ from the initial $125 ATR. Residents who were not eligible for the initial $125 ATR may now be able to claim the $200 ATR as a refundable tax credit only if they:
- Received Social Security benefits in 2022 and
- Are not claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2022 Indiana income tax return
To receive the $200 ATRs refundable tax credit, qualified Indiana taxpayers must file a 2022 state resident tax return no later than Dec. 31, 2023. That means some residents who do not normally file a tax return due to their income will need to file a 2022 state tax return to claim the ATR as a tax credit.
Instead of a direct payment, the $200 tax credit will be received as a refund or applied toward any additional taxes owed.
Maine
Maine had one of the largest tax stimulus check amounts in the nation, at $850 for an individual and $1,700 for a couple. Single filers must have earned less than $100,000, heads of household $150,000 and joint filers $200,000 to qualify. Additionally, they must have filed a 2021 tax return, be sure to file it by October 31st, 2022 to claim the stimulus check.
Maine taxpayers may have been able to get this stimulus money even if they owe back state income tax.
Payments started being distributed in June 2022.
Massachusetts
Residents of Massachusetts who earned between $38,000 and $100,000 in 2021 may be able to get a tax rebate of $250 or $500 for couples. Residents have until by September 15, 2023 to file their 2021 tax return. These tax relief payments started at the end of September 2022.
Minnesota
Minnesota is limiting its inflation relief to frontline workers in the pandemic. To be eligible, you must have worked at least 120 in-person hours between March 15, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
If you cared for COVID-19 patients, you must have an annual income of less than $175,000 during the time period between December 2019 and January 2022. Other workers have an income cap of $85,000 for the same period.
New Jersey
New Jersey residents who paid state income tax on their 2020 return may have qualify for up to $500 in tax rebates. The amount depends on the amount of tax paid, in essence rebating any tax payment $500 or less.
Those who earned too little to pay New Jersey taxes did not get any stimulus checks. Payments were sent out between July and August 2022.
New Mexico
New Mexico has two separate tax rebate payments. One is just for residents who earn $75,000 or less ($150,000 or less for joint filers) and is for $250 per taxpayer. These payments started being issued in July 2022.
The second rebate is for all New Mexico taxpayers and is $500 for single filers and $1,000 for couples filing jointly. Residents who qualify for this second tax rebate received it in two equal payments, delivered in June and August of 2022.
The second rebate is for all New Mexico taxpayers and is $500 for single filers and $1,000 for couples filing jointly. Residents who qualify for this second tax rebate received it in two equal payments, delivered in June and August of 2022.
If you did not file taxes, you may still receive a rebate of $500 for individuals without dependents or $1,000 for married couples or single adults with dependents.
New York
In June of 2022, New York started sending out property tax rebates of up to $1,050.
To qualify, you must be a homeowner, have income of less than $250,000 for 2020, qualify for the 2022 School Tax Relief (STAR) Program and have a school tax liability for 2022-2023 of more than your 2022 STAR benefit.
Oregon
If you lived in Oregon for at least the last six months of 2020 and were eligible to receive the earned income tax credit on your 2020 state tax return, you may qualify for a one-time payment of $600. Payments were sent out between June 23 and July 1, 2022.
Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, you may qualify for up to $975 in tax relief if you are an older homeowner, renter or a person with disabilities. The payments started to be distributed in July 2022.
South Carolina
South Carolinians who paid state income tax may be able to get up to $800, depending on the amount they paid in taxes. These tax rebates were mailed between late November and early December 2022.
If you didn’t pay state income taxes, then you do not qualify for the tax rebate.
Virginia
The Virginia stimulus check amounts of $250 per taxpayer or $500 for couples filing jointly were distributed beginning in late September 2022. Eligible taxpayers must have filed by November 1, 2022 to receive the rebate.
If you set up to get your refund by direct deposit, that is how you will receive this rebate. Otherwise, you can expect a check in the mail if you qualify.
