A one-time tax rebate will soon start rolling out to eligible Virginians who have filed their 2022 state income taxes. Those who haven’t yet filed their taxes still have some time left to file them to claim the tax rebate checks from Virginia. Such taxpayers have until November 1 to file their state taxes.
Was it the governor’s idea to send tax rebate checks from Virginia?
Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved the one-time tax rebate checks from Virginia as part of the state’s annual budget, which was signed into law in September. After months of negotiations, lawmakers agreed on the one-time tax rebate and eventually settled on a $1 billion initiative to cut back taxes.
“In the second budget, we were able to pair it with another billion, bringing $5 billion of tax relief to Virginians at a time when they need it most,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said during an event in Petersburg last week, adding that he has signed about $5 billion in tax cuts since he took office in January 2022.
Virginia Democrats called Youngkin’s press release “misleading” and accused the governor of taking credit for their idea. Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), the Democratic Caucus chairwoman and a Virginia Senate Finance Committee conferee, noted that the rebate checks idea was not from the governor; rather the idea originated with Democrats in the Senate.
Sen. Locke said the budget House Republicans initially approved was a corporate tax scheme, which would have benefitted the ultra-wealthy at the expense of the schools. The final budget bill, which all agreed to, included the one-time tax rebate but not the corporate tax cuts that Youngkin initially pitched.
Who will get it, how much and when?
Gov. Youngkin informed that the rebate money will roll out in waves and that it will be processed based on the order received. Eligible individual filers will get up to $200, while couples filing jointly could get up to $400.
“So, if you were really efficient earlier in the year, you’ll be first in line. And if you were slow, unfortunately, you’ll be at the back of the line,” the governor said.
This means those who have already filed their state taxes will get the rebate money first. Those who haven’t yet filed their taxes can do so by November 1 (the extension date from May 1) to get the tax rebate checks from Virginia.
The Virginia Department of Taxation says the timetable for when the rebate money will go out isn’t available now but will be revealed later. Further, the department said that not all taxpayers will qualify for the rebate. Only those with a tax liability will be eligible for the rebate.
Eligible taxpayers will get the rebate via direct deposit or a paper check in the mail. Those who received their refund via direct deposit this year will likely get the rebate in the same bank account.
Visit the Virginia Department of Taxation website for more information on the tax rebate checks from Virginia.