4th Stimulus: 16 states, including California, Illinois & Massachusetts issuing additional payment to qualifying residents

While news of federally funded stimulus checks frequently flooded the internet during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, after the third round was distributed in March of 2021, rumors began swirling around the idea of a fourth economic stimulus payment.

Jump forward to Aug. 2022, when in lieu of federal stimulus funds, several states have enacted their own types of stimulus programs to better assist their residents.

Below, Select details the current status and rules regarding these programs in 16 states where more stimulus checks and tax refunds are being distributed and how you can make sure you qualify if you’re a resident.

Gov. Gavin Newsom shared in late June that millions of Californians would be receiving inflation relief checks later this year as part of a new tax rebate plan geared toward helping the middle class. According to the Franchise Tax Board’s website, qualifying individuals will receive up to $1,050 sometime between late October 2022 and mid-January 2023.

To qualify, you must have been a California resident for at least six months during the 2020 tax year and need to have filed your 2020 tax returns before Oct. 15, 2021 — and not be listed as someone else’s dependent during the 2020 tax year. You’ll also need to meet certain California adjusted gross income requirement and still officially be a California resident when the payments are issued.

Californians who qualify are eligible to receive anywhere from $200 to $1,050 depending on their income and tax filing status. More information about Middle Class Tax Refund payment amounts can be found on the State of California’s Franchise Tax Board website.

The Colorado Cash Back Bill was signed on May 23, giving Colorado residents — as long as they were considered full-year residents of the state in 2021 and at least 18 years old on Dec. 31, 2021 — the chance to collect a tax rebate of $750 for individual tax filers or $1,500 for joint filers.

As long as you filed your Colorado state income tax return by June 30, you should receive your check by Sept. 30, according to the state’s Department of Revenue website. Those with extended tax return deadlines in October 2022 should receive theirs by Jan. 31, 2023.

*Note: This is not a stimulus check, but rather a tax refund.

In May, the Delaware Relief Rebate Program was signed into law by Gov. John Carney, allowing for a one-time $300 payment to be made to each of the state’s adult residents.

To qualify, Delaware residents must have filed their 2021 state tax return by the due date and don’t need to do anything more to receive it. Checks are being issued throughout the summer, according to Delaware’s Department of Finance website.

In mid-July, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $450 one-time checks are being sent out to families that are caregivers, foster parents or on state assistance programs. An estimated 59,000 families will receive the payments.

The programs that qualify are listed here.

In March, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a tax refund aimed at helping Georgia residents handle the ever-rising cost of living. Those who filed single or separately are eligible to receive $250, while residents who filed as the head of the household get $375 and married couples and those filing jointly will receive $500.

According to the State of Georgia’s Department of Revenue website, most payments will be issued by early August to those who filed their taxes by the 2022 tax deadline of Apr. 18.

On June 22, Gov. David Ige approved the measure to refund each resident of Hawaii $100 or $300 based on their income, tax filing status and a number of exemptions.

Single filers and heads of households who made more than $100,000 last year are eligible for $100 refunds, while those of the same categories who made less than $100,000 last year can receive $300 refunds. The same amounts will be given to married couples (filing jointly and separately) and surviving spouses who made more than $200,000 and less than $200,000 last year, respectively.

Checks will be issued in late August, according to the State of Hawaii’s Department of Taxation website.

In February, Gov. Brad Little signed a bill to provide residents with a one-time tax rebate of either $75 or 12% of your 2020 Idaho state taxes, whichever is greater. Payments began to roll out in March.

To qualify, recipients must have been full-year Idaho residents in 2020 and 2021 and must have filed income tax returns or grocery-credit refund returns for those years. Additional information is available through Idaho’s State Tax Commission website.

Illinois residents began to see the results of the state’s $1.83 billion family relief plan, which launched in early July and included the suspension of the 1% sales tax on groceries through June 30, 2023, as well as a reduction in sales tax (from 6.25% to 1.25%) as part of a back to school shopping holiday between Aug. 5–14. A gas tax increase that normally takes place in July is also being moved to January 2023.

Income tax rebate checks are being issued as well. Individual filers who made under $200,000 in 2021 are eligible to receive $50, while married couples who filed jointly with incomes under $400,000 can receive $100. Those who claimed dependents are also eligible to receive a $100 credit per child, with a limit of three child credits per household.

Checks will be sent out the week of Sept. 12, according to a recent press release from the State of Illinois’ website.

Gov. Eric Holcomb recently enacted the Hoosier state’s Use of Excess Reserves law to issue a one-time $125 one-time taxpayer refund to residents. The first round of checks was issued in May, with more rounds in July, and were issued to all full-year residents regardless of income level as long as they filed their 2020 tax returns by Jan. 3, 2022.

A special session was called on July 25th, and the House Ways and Means Committee passed a bill to distribute $225 stimulus checks from the state’s surplus tax revenue. However, it has not been approved by Holcomb as of publishing.

Visit the Indiana Department of Revenue website to learn more.

Maine is paying its residents one of the highest stimulus check amounts, with single filers and couples receiving $850 and $1,700, respectively, thanks to new legislation signed by Gov. Janet Mills in April.

Full-year residents must file a Maine income tax return by Oct. 31, 2022 and have a federally adjusted gross income under $100,000 if filing individually or if married and filing separately, under $150,000 if filing as the head of a household and under $200,000 if filing jointly as a couple or a surviving spouse. Recipients also can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2021 Maine tax return. Note that residents who still need to file their 2021 tax return can still do so until Oct. 31 to qualify.

The checks were issued starting in June. Visit the Maine Revenue Services website to learn more.

The Massachusetts legislature recently failed to approve $250 stimulus checks for qualifying residents, however, money is still likely to be distributed to a wide swath of Massachusetts citizens.

Because of a 1986 Massachusetts law, the state government has to return excess tax revenue to taxpayers. This means that many residents will likely get a share of the approximately $2.5 billon in surplus cash the state collected. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said that residents would receive a 7 percent refund of their 2021 state income tax payment, which is about $250 for someone who made $75,000 per year.

The State Auditor will make a decision by Sep. 20 on if Massachusetts will be able to issue tax credits, and how much those will be.

Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation allowing eligible New Jersey residents to be issued checks of up to $500 as part of a Middle Class Tax Rebate offering child tax credits to those who had claimed at least one dependent when they submitted their 2020 income taxes.

Each year going forward, payments will be made the following July to those who file taxes by the Apr. 18 deadline, or by Dec. 31 of the following year for those who file with an extended deadline.

Eligibility is based on having at least one qualifying child (claimed as a dependent), a tax liability of more than $1 and certain income restrictions — and a gross annual income of less than $150,000 for married people filing jointly, heads of households and surviving spouses, or less than $75,000 for single filers and married people filing separately.

In June 2022, the governor also announced plans for new rebates of up to $1,500 for eligible families paying property taxes, which would also include renters. This measure has yet to be passed.

More information can be found on New Jersey’s Division of Taxation website.

New Mexico is providing two separate stimulus checks to its residents, thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in early March.

First, there’s a rebate of $500 available to married couples filing jointly, heads of households and surviving spouses who have an income under $150,000 — single filers and married people filing separately who made under $75,000 last year will receive $250. These rebates are being paid out automatically this month to those who have already filed their 2021 state income tax returns.

Another income tax rebate is also being sent out — the first half was already paid in June, while the last half will be paid in August — this time, to anyone who’s already filed their 2021 personal income tax return. Single filers and married people filing separately will have received $500, while married couples filing jointly, heads of households and surviving spouses were entitled to $1,000.

More information can be found on New Mexico’s Taxation and Revenue website.

Oregon residents that qualified for the recent one-time assistance checks received them by July 31. The $600 checks were delivered to low-income residents who met the following criteria: Received the Oregon Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on their 2020 tax filing and lived in Oregon for the last six months of 2020.

Eligible residents of South Carolina will soon receive up to $800 in income tax rebates thanks to a new bill signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in June.

Such rebates are being awarded per person, no matter how they filed their tax return. Anyone who hasn’t already filed income taxes won’t qualify to receive a rebate.

The delivery of those checks is planned for November and December 2022. For more information, visit South Carolina’s Department of Revenue website.

Residents of Virginia who had a tax liability last year are eligible to receive up to $500 as part of the state’s one-time tax rebate program — a lump sum of $250 for those who filed individually or $500 for those who filed jointly.

Note that stimulus checks won’t be issued until later this fall — as of this writing, the website says late October for those who filed their 2021 tax returns by July 1. You must file by Nov. 1 in order to qualify. More information can be found on the Virginia Department of Taxation’s website.

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