Last week, Lawmakers in Delaware pushed through a rebate measure to provide every resident of the state a one-off direct stimulus check worth $300 that will cover the rising expenses linked to an increase in the cost of groceries, gasoline, and other essentials. The first round of the stimulus checks will go out in end-May only to those residents who have filed their income tax returns for 2020.
The $20M rebate program is funded by close to $1B in revenues funded from the state surplus for 2021. The stimulus check initiative will also go out in all to 175,000 – 200,000 residents who have not yet filed their income tax returns recently, and includes senior citizens with low incomes and incarcerated residents.
Rick Geisenberger, the Finance Secretary, has revealed that his office will begin a search for a database in the summer for those residents from multiple agencies like the Health and Social Service Department, the Motor Vehicles department, and the Dept. of Corrections.
The Finance Secretary added that residents who are eligible but owe money to government agencies, including the courts, will get their $300 stimulus check. He said that the legislative measure has specifically exempted all debt obligations that residents have to any state agencies. So residents who owe debts can be assured that they will not have such payments deducted from their state stimulus check payments.
The third phase of the rebate program is set to begin in October as the Finance Department will roll out a website where residents who have not received the stimulus checks can reach out for this rebate.
Geisenberger further added that the finance department expects to identify the maximum number of eligible residents during the initial phases of this program. This will help weed out an expected flood of fraud applications for stimulus checks in the last phase.
He elaborated that it is usually at the end that a public website is most vulnerable to dishonest activities that have occurred in the past during the federal stimulus checks. He added that the goal of the Delaware administration is to have as few residents as possible apply during the final phase of the application process for the state stimulus check.
Creation Of The Delaware Relief Rebate Program Of 2022
The Delaware Relief Rebate Program was initiated through House Bill No. 360. This piece of legislative measure led to the creation of a relief rebate. It is a one-time direct stimulus check worth $300 for adult residents of Delaware.
The Delaware stimulus check is expected to help residents of the state face the high incidence of prices on a wide range of essential items including gasoline, groceries, house rent, and many other essential items and expenditures.
The finance department of Delaware (DDF) will issue this one-off payment worth $300 to individuals who have cleared their 2020 income tax return and are within the due date. This payment will go out to all taxpayers, including married couples who file jointly. Taxpayers do not have to take any additional action other than filing their tax returns to get their $300 stimulus check.
The state of Delaware has been trying to ensure that the maximum number of residents of Delaware get their one-time rebate stimulus check by the end of May 2022.
Timeline Of The $300 Delaware Stimulus Check
The Delaware Relief Rebate Program of 2022 was signed into law through House Bill 360. This piece of legislation led to the creation of the Delaware Relief Rebate Program of 2022 on April 14, 2022.
On May 31, 2022, individuals who have filed their income tax returns for 2020 for Delaware state will get their one-time stimulus check worth $300.
By October 17, 2022, the finance department of Delaware will initiate the development of a pathway to enable qualifying adult residents of Delaware who have failed to file their state tax returns for 2020 to receive the rebate stimulus check. Additional information on this development is expected in the coming weeks.
Ensuring That The Relief Rebate Of Delaware Is Received In Time
Residents of the state can look up the status of their rebates using an online tool put up by the Delaware Department of Finance. Residents will need to enter their Social Security number and other relevant information that is normally necessary to file income tax returns.
The administration has revealed that the first round of the rebate stimulus check will be issued in the last week of May. The website is expected to be totally updated with the issuance dates of the stimulus checks that are issued.
Residents who have filed their personal tax returns for Delaware state but fail to receive the stimulus check even three weeks after the date of issuance are advised to contact the finance department of the state at [email protected] or should call 302-577-8200.
Residents who have not filed their income tax return for 2020 will be excluded from the first round of payments of the $300 payment.
House Bill 360 has authorized the Finance Secretary to cooperate with various state agencies over the following 6 months to come up with a pathway for those residents of Delaware who failed to file their 2020 income tax returns. They will then be eligible to claim the rebate relief payment.
These provisions have also been conditioned on appropriations in a future period that is yet to be stipulated by the General Assembly. The finance department is expected to update the website and add other FAQs as additional information is available to the authorities.
A frequent question asked by many recipients of stimulus checks is whether relief checks are taxable. As with other stimulus checks, the relief rebate stimulus check of 2022 initiated by the state of Delaware is not subject to income tax under state laws.
The rebate may have an impact on the federal income tax in 2022, but the issue is yet to be clarified by the state and federal authorities.
Children who have filed a 2020 Delaware resident personal tax return within the due date, including extension, will receive the $300 relief rebate whether they were claimed as dependents or not.
Only full-time residents will be eligible for the relief rebate. Pepel who have filed a resident return as a partial year resident but moved on or before December 31, 2020, are not eligible for the stimulus check.
