$500 Rebate Checks Expected For NJ Residents: What We Know

NEW JERSEY — As part of a $319 million package that Gov. Phil Murphy and lawmakers agreed to in September, about 800,000 Garden State residents could receive a $500 rebate check within the next few months.

But when will those checks hit your bank? Lawmakers and the Murphy administration have answers to most of those questions (see below).

The injection of aid for New Jerseyans during the coronavirus pandemic was part of a deal to pass a millionaire's tax this past fall. Lawmakers and the Murphy administration agreed to a 10.75 percent marginal tax rate imposed on $1 million in taxable income.

Murphy has included the funding for rebate checks in his budget proposal, which lawmakers will vote on within the next month.

Lawmakers expect the budget to easily pass – with likely little to no Republican support – and the initial rebate measure was passed as part of the millionaire's tax agreement in September. Read more: Gov. Phil Murphy Announces Deal On NJ Millionaire's Tax, Rebates

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told nj.com: “It’s (the budget and funding for the rebate) a done deal in my mind ... In fact, I think it needs to be made permanent, but we’ll have to talk about that going forward. We did this to help the middle class. Well, the middle class needs to be helped all the time, not some of the time.”

State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said the package "gives us the tools we need to help New Jerseyans meet the challenges of this pandemic, while still providing the resources necessary to better protect the state during these fiscally unprecedented and volatile times."

Here are some answers to the questions you may have:

When can you expect the check?

Once the funding is approved, the rebates are expected to pay out between July 1 and July 31.

The $319 million budgeted for this rebate program is expected to get final approval as part of Murphy's 2021-22 fiscal plan, which needs to be approved by July 1.

Who will get the stimulus?

The deal includes a $500 rebate to married parents filing a joint tax return or who identify as head of household or as a surviving spouse. The parents must have at least one child and earn a maximum of $150,000.

The rebate is $75,000 for single parents or each parent who files separate returns. The parent must have a gross income tax liability greater than zero.

The rebate checks will be based on your tax filings this spring and 2020 gross income.

Can non-New Jersey residents qualify?

Only New Jersey residents would be eligible.

If someone had a baby in February 2021, would they not qualify?

Eligibility is based on your 2020 tax filing status so children born this year would not be captured in that.

Will a dependent child be defined as someone under 19 years old or a full-time student under 24 years old?

“Qualifying Child” is defined as a child who qualifies as a dependent for federal tax purposes and is claimed as a dependent on the New Jersey gross income tax return.

How will you receive your payment? Will it arrive in the mail or can it come via direct deposit?

Lawmakers are still hashing out how the payments will be distributed to residents.

What if you file an extension on your taxes?

Rebates will continue to be issued weekly for returns filed on extension.

If someone files an extension, the state Department Treasury has until December 31 to distribute the checks, according to Sweeney's office.