The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is recommending Illinois taxpayers hold on filing their 2022 tax returns if they received the special, one-time property tax and/or income tax refund check from the state of Illinois last year. Currently, the IRS is working with state tax officials to determine if those refunds or payments are taxable by the federal government.
The refund checks in question are the ones that most Illinoisans received last fall and were part of Gov. Pritzker’s temporary “tax relief” plan. This plan received sharp criticism from the Senate Republicans, as it was seen as an election-year gimmick by the Governor. At a time when he had the opportunity to provide permanent, long-lasting relief, the Governor instead chose to issue one-time payments that arrived in the mail right ahead of his 2022 election.
The income tax rebate checks were sent to those who earned less than $200,000 for individual filers, and less than $400,000 for joint filers. Single filers received $50 and joint filers received $100, and those with dependents received $100 per dependent up to $300. The election-year plan also sent property tax rebates up to $300 to homeowners.
The IRS determined late last week that these payments are not taxable at the federal level and that taxpayers will not need to report these payments on their 2022 tax returns.