It’s one of the politician’s oldest tricks in the book. But it still works, because it’s so effective. One of the best ways to accrue goodwill from voters? Throw money at them, in the form of everything from stimulus checks to tax rebate payments.
Congress is too gridlocked at the moment to move forward with more stimulus checks at the federal level. Republicans also have no incentive to give President Biden something that looks like a “win,” given the state of play ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. And so, we turn to the state level.
There, it’s a completely different story. State governments across the country have for months now been proposing everything from gas rebate checks to checks that return a portion of budget surpluses to residents. And we’ve got all the details below.
Tax rebate payments, stimulus checks, and more
Last year, American taxpayers got more than half a dozen stimulus checks from the federal government. They included six child tax credit payments, along with a third stimulus check in response to the Covid pandemic.
As you’ll see below, the drive to issue such payments has now by necessity shifted to the state level. The giveaways are an attempt to tackle everything from record-high inflation to soaring gas prices.
The list of states
We’ll now briefly run through some of what’s been proposed (or is definitely coming) around the US:
Colorado: 3.1 million “full-time” state residents are getting a tax rebate, of either $400 for individuals or $800 for joint filers. They’ll be based on state tax returns that must be filed by May 31, 2022. And the money will go out in either August or September.
Indiana: Under this state’s law that automatically sends excess state reserve funds back to taxpayers when a certain threshold is reached, one-time payments of $125 are going out to taxpayers between now and July.
Maine: Around 850,000 residents are getting $850 checks, money for which comes from a state budget surplus. The payments will be based on state tax returns, which are due by May 31, and the payments could come as soon as next month.
New Mexico: Residents here are getting tax rebates in July. $250 if they make less than $75,000 a year, and a $500 rebate if they make no more than $150,000 a year.
Illinois: Payments of up to $400 are coming this year for Illinois residents. The payments of $50 or $100 will depend on how many dependents are in a household. Families can claim $100 for up to three.
Tax rebates and payments coming to other states & cities
Idaho: Idaho lawmakers appropriated $350 million for tax rebates earlier this year. The payments went out to residents in March. And residents can check the status of their payment right here.
Chicago: The city council here has approved sending out gas rebate checks. Eligible residents will get $150 prepaid gas cards.
Kentucky: Earlier this year, the state Senate passed legislation sending tax rebates out to residents. If the same language is approved by the House, residents would get a tax rebate of up to $500 (for individuals) and $1,000 for households.
Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz has proposed tax rebate payments of $1,000 per couple. That money would come out of a state budget surplus.
Hawaii: A state Senate bill has proposed a tax rebate payment of $300 to anyone making no more than $100,000 a year, and $100 for anyone with incomes over that amount.
New York: New York’s legislature in recent weeks passed a bill offering residents a six-month gas tax, and another offering a homeowner tax rebate. In New York City, the average benefit of the latter is expected to be $425. Outside of NYC, the expected benefit is almost $970.
