Up to $700 for IL residents: How to get your tax rebate check

By Chip Brewster Oct 4, 2022 | 12:40 PM

ILLINOIS — Tax rebates have been hitting bank accounts and mailboxes across Illinois for the past three weeks. If you qualify and haven’t gotten your check yet, the deadline to submit necessary forms is fast approaching.

The 2022 State of Illinois Tax Rebates are one-time payments to qualified Illinois residents approved under the Illinois Family Relief Plan. The checks consist of two different rebates: one for individual income tax, and another for property tax.

Do you need to apply for the rebates?

If you filed your state taxes, primarily done through a 2021 IL-1040 form, then no further action is needed and the combined rebates will automatically be sent to you.

If you did not file a 2021 IL-1040, including those who were not required to, you have until October 17 to get it to the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDR).

For the income tax rebate, if you have dependents, you must also complete / have completed a Schedule E/EIC.
For the property tax rebate, you needed to have filed both the 2021 IL-1040 and a Schedule ICR. In lieu of those two documents, a special Property Tax Rebate form (IL-1040-PTR) can be filed either electronically or through a paper submission. Instructions for the IL-1040-PTR can be found here.

Who qualifies for a check?

To receive the individual income tax rebate you must have:

Been an Illinois resident in 2021 (even if just part of the year)
Had an adjusted gross income in 2021 under $200,000 if filed as a single person, or under $400,000 if filed jointly

To receive the property tax rebate you must have:

Been an Illinois resident in 2021 (even if just part of the year)
Paid Illinois property taxes in 2021 for primary residence 2020 taxes
Had an adjusted gross income in 2021 under $250,000 if filed as a single person, or under $500,000 if filed jointly

The letter which comes with a paper check for the tax rebates

How much is your check?

The income tax rebate amount is determined by the following criteria:

If you filed as a single person you get $50
If you filed jointly you get $100 ($50 for each person)
If you filed with dependents you get an additional $100 per dependent up to three, or $300

So a family with two adults and three children will see an income tax rebate of the maximum amount, $400.

The property tax rebate is equal to the property tax you were qualified to claim on your 2021 taxes up to a maximum of $300. For more information on the property tax credit you can view Illinois’ Publication 108.

When will you get your check?

The first distributions went out the week of September 12 and state officials estimated it will take them six to seven weeks to fully distribute the $1.2 billion to the roughly six million eligible taxpayers.

This timeline puts the latest estimated delivery past the required document submission deadline of October 17 so if you have any uncertainty it is important to check the status of your rebate.

How to check the status of your rebate

According to the state’s 2022 State of Illinois Tax Rebates website, taxpayers can check on the status of their rebates by using the Where’s My Rebate? application.

To use the Where’s My Rebate? application, you must have:

Your name and social security number (SSN) or taxpayer identification number (ITIN), and
Your 2021 adjusted gross income amount as reported on your 2021 Form IL-1040, Illinois Individual Income Tax Return, or Form IL-1040-PTR, Property Tax Rebate, or your IL-PIN, which you can obtain using the IL-PIN Inquiry application.

Will the rebate impact your 2022 state or federal taxes?

While the rebate is exempt from Illinois income tax, the IDR advises it may have an impact on federal income tax for those who itemize their deductions.