Here’s What New York’s Latest Stimulus Check Offer Looks Like – New York state has started mailing out this year’s tax rebate checks for homeowners several months early, with homeowners getting much-needed financial relief weeks before they go to the polls and vote in the first round of statewide primary elections.
Notably, the relief ‘stimulus check’ is arriving before June 28 this year, when unelected Governor Kathy Hochul – former Lieutenant Governor of New York who replaced disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo in August last year – faces her first election challenge. Hochul will go up against fellow Democrats Tom Suozzi and Jumaane Williams to become the official Democratic Party candidate.
The early arrival of the checks hasn’t gone unnoticed, with New York media outlets noting a curious message that appears to have been added to the checks.
“Gov. Hochul and the New York State Legislature are providing you this,” the checks read.
It isn’t the first time that incumbent governors or elected officials have used checks like this to remind taxpayers who approved the rebates, and likely won’t be the last.
More On the Stimulus Check
Roughly three million homeowners across the state are expected to receive $2.2 billion in tax refunds this year, in an effort to ease the pressure on homeowners responsible for both New York’s high property taxes and the rising cost of food, fuel, and household goods.
Residents should expect to receive as much as $1,050, with an average of $425 headed to New York City households. Homeowners outside of the city should generally expect more, with residents receiving an average of $970. Roughly two million of the three million eligible households are outside of the city.
Households earning less than $75,000 per year are expected to receive an average rebate payment of $1,050.
Who Is Eligible for the ‘Stimulus Check’?
To receive the homeowner tax rebate credit (HTRC), New York homeowners must have also qualified for the 2022 School Tax Relief program – another statewide tax relief program that sends eligible taxpayers a check every year to pay school taxes.
Homeowners must have an annual household income of less than $250,000 for the 2020 tax year, and have a school tax liability for the 2022-2023 school year that is more than their 2022 School Tax Relief program benefit.
Not sure if you qualify? You won’t need to do the math. The New York state government website informs taxpayers that the government will determine eligibility based on tax filings and send out checks accordingly.
Qualifying taxpayers should expect to receive the check sometime in June, with a small percentage receiving them later in the summer owing to some expected school tax data delays.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
