4th stimulus check update 2023 — New payments between $200 to $1,700 dropping in 9 states – see if you’re eligible

January deadline for New Jersey payment

Millions of Americans have until the end of the month to submit applications for a one-time direct payment worth up to $1,500.

The ANCHOR Property Tax relief provides more than $2billion in assistance for both homeowners and renters across New Jersey.

The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters scheme aims to provide residents with aid in the form of tax rebates.

Americans can file applications online, but there is a race against time as the deadline is January 31.  

Missouri universal basic income going out

A universal basic income (UBI) program has just been approved with a whopping $5million budget in Missouri.

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen in Missouri voted to approve $500 monthly payments to 440 families.

Mayor Tishaura Jones still has to approve the measure in order to finalize details.

If passed, $5million will be put toward providing low-income families with the payments for 18 months.

The money comes from pandemic recovery funds and will be used to help families who are still recovering from financial losses due to the pandemic.

Massachusetts offers UBI

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, 2,000 eligible residents received monthly stipends ranging from $200 to $400 a month.

The program ran from November 2020 to August 2021 before launching a second phase, which will have 700 participants.

However, those who are selected will only get the cash for three months.

Used electric vehicles qualify for rebate

If you’re looking to save some extra cash by purchasing a used vehicle, you’re in luck as you can still get a credit worth up to $4,000.

Similar to the new vehicle credits, there are limits on used EVs:

• Income requirements: Consumers qualify if their modified adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 for married couples or $75,000 for single filers
• Vehicle price: The sale price can’t exceed $25,000
• Sale qualifications: Buyers only get the credit if it’s the first sale of the used vehicle. They can also only get the credit once every three years
• Vehicle qualifications: The car model must be at least two years old

Cleveland considers funding cultural garden

The Cuyahoga County Council in Cleveland is considering using $300,000 worth of Covid-19 stimulus money to fund the African American Cultural Garden.

While the project wasn’t voted on today, it will be assigned to a committee before the council does a final vote.

The county has also consider funding Mayfield Village’s civic center with $250,000 from the American Rescue Plan.

California payments go out in late January

Since October, California has been sending out payments to residents under the Middle Class Tax Refund plan.

The state has issued payments in multiple batches to certain groups, including by last name.  

Currently, California is sending out rebates to those direct deposit recipients who changed their banking information after filing a 2020 tax return.

That continued through Saturday, January 14.

After that, debit card recipients who modified their address since filing a 2020 return will get their money from Friday, January 30 through Saturday, February 14.

Taxpayers can save $145million

A proposed bill would eliminate property taxes on personal cars for over a million Americans in West Virginia.

Governor Jim Justice announced a new bill that he said would save taxpayers $145million.

The bill is called the “Car and All Vehicle Tax Elimination and Protection of Local Government Act” and would refund property taxes that West Virginians pay on their cars.

If the bill passes, citizens would be refunded their county property taxes on their vehicles in the form of state tax rebates.

New hope for a stimulus check

A New Year’s Eve tweet from President Joe Biden has sparked hope for a new stimulus check.

Mr Biden recapped the accomplishments his administration has made throughout the year and offered predictions for next year.

“We’ve got more work to do,” the president tweeted. “I look forward to more progress in the new year.”

Although he didn’t elaborate, many Twitter users speculated he was talking about the expanded Child Tax Credit, which gave families a $3,600 credit for every child younger than six and $3,000 for any kids between the ages of six and 17.

The initiative expired at the end of 2021, and there’s been a strong push to bring it back permanently.

Concerns mount over if relief checks are driving up inflation

Several economists and financial experts are worried inflation relief payments will actually further the rising rate of inflation, reports The Lee Daily Register.

Beth Akers, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said handing out money during a period of inflation will only lead to further inflation.

Furthermore, she warned the checks could leave several states in the red next year as growth in tax revenue starts to decrease.

Ohio approves one-time payment for workers

Lima City Council, in Ohio, approved one-time payments for essential workers who performed work during the pandemic in 2020.

The city auditor will provide the payment and will offer eligible city employees a bonus of $1,000.

The payments passed with six votes and only one vote against it.

What is a stimulus check?

A stimulus check is a one-time given to taxpayers via paper check or direct deposit.

The U.S. provided taxpayers with three checks: the first round was worth $1,200, followed by $600 and $1,400, respectively.

The package was an initial response to the economic impact of COVID-19.

Three federal stimulus checks

The government issued three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic in 2020.

The first “economic impact payment” was worth up to $1,200 and given to low-income households while the second payment was worth up to $600 at the beginning of 2021.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent a third round worth up to $1,400, to hundreds of millions of Americans.

As of last year, the IRS issued over 175million stimulus checks worth $400billion under the third round of federal stimulus.

Wells Fargo ordered to pay $3.7billion

After 16million customers were impacted by the bank, Wells Fargo was ordered to pay customers $3.7billion in fines and refunds.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered the bank to repay $2billion to consumers and pay a $1.7billion penalty.

The bank had multiple violations of consumer financial laws, including illegal fees and interest on auto loans and mortgages, and incorrectly applied overdraft fees for savings and checking accounts.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said, “Wells Fargo’s rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families.”

New Hampshire offers energy rebate

Around $104million is available to millions of New Hampshire families in the form of energy rebates and fuel assistance.

Around $70million will go into home energy rebate programs and $34million will go to the state’s fuel assistance program.

The fuel assistance program opened earlier this week and already 22,000 have applied, that’s 6,000 more than last year.

Fuel benefits range from $304 to $3,024, depending on household income and energy costs, according to the state.

The average payment is $1,342.04, and the payments will not hinder any public assistance someone is receiving.

San Antonio helps with electric bills

San Antonio residents who were plagued with sky-high electric bills will get a little bit of relief through a rebate. 

Customers will get back approximately 13 percent of their July electric bills, coming to an average of about $29 per household.

There are special options available to those receiving the rebate as well.

In fact, residents can choose if they want to keep the rebate for themselves or pass it to low-income residents who need help paying their bills.

They could also opt to send the rebate to be held for city funding to increase weatherization efforts in Texas.

Massachusetts rebate disappoints several residents

A rebate in Massachusetts is not what many residents expected. 

Some are getting as little as $9 back, while others get as much as $20,000..

The rebates are equal to 13 percent of a resident’s 2021 state income tax liability, with an average rebate sitting at $529, reports Mass Live.

However, households that are part of the bottom 20 percent of earners will get an average credit of just $9, while the middle 20 percent will get about $208.

Households with incomes of $1million or more could see a credit of more than $22,000.

Florida City offering ‘gold’ energy rebates

Tallahassee, Florida is encouraging property owners to switch to natural gas appliances with rebates of up to $2,000.

The push for natural gas is meant to reduce the city’s demand for electricity. 

Applicants can get a total of 10 rebates to install new gas furnaces, water heaters, pool heaters as well as a host of other gas-powered appliances.

The city will even provide the gas from the street at no extra charge.

To see if they qualify, residents can fill out either the residential or commercial rebate applications.

Which state spent the most on stimulus checks?

Citizens across the country received financial aid over the last two years through direct payments.

These “state stimulus checks” helped residents make ends meet at the height of the pandemic, and during the historic inflation that followed.

Of all the states, Maine shelled out the most money to residents with checks going out for amounts between $850 and $1,700.

The payments depended on income and filing status, according to Yahoo Finance.

Some Iowans to get $1400, part two

Donna Brooks, the grants manager for Johnson County, said the payments will be processed as soon as possible, The U.S Sun has reported.

Activist Ninoska Campos told the Iowa City Press-Citizen. “We call on the city and the county to process the final relief checks so that the last 319 people negatively impacted can receive their household stabilization payment as soon as possible.”

Residents were required to prove that they were suffering from food or housing insecurity or job loss in order to be eligible for the payment.

The income threshold for a household of one is $45,370 or below.

Some Iowans to get $1400

The Direct Assistance Program in Johnson County was launched to provide low-income workers with a stimulus boost.

It was funded using $2million from Johnson County, $1.35million from Iowa City, and $27,000 from Coralville.

But, $2.68million of the funding was originally used, meaning more than 300 applicants were left out.

Officials claimed that the workers were excluded because they lived outside of Iowa City limits, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Housing funds available in Delaware

Delaware provides up to $40,000 per person to cover a mortgage, property tax, water and sewer utilities, HOA fees, homeowner insurance, and other expenses, according to the state website.

The $50million will be available until 2025, or until the funding runs out.

It is part of the American Rescue Plan, a federal Covid-19 relief package.

Recipients must be:

• A Delaware resident and homeowner.
• Have income at or below 150 percent AMI or 100 percent of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater
• A reduced income or increased expenses after the start of the pandemic, or January 21, 2020
• Be at least 30 days late on a payment

Over $1billion in rebates sent to Illinois residents

Illinois residents have received a total of $1billion in income and property tax rebates under the Illinois Family Relief Plan.

The rebates were designed to help struggling families make ends meet, according to the Illinois Senate Democrats.

Families who filed 2021 state taxes were eligible to receive up to $700 and those who filed property taxes were eligible to receive up to $300.

Excluded worker stimulus comes to a close

The last round of excluded worker payments has been sent in New York.

The Excluded Workers Fund was expanded in 2022 to provide aid for undocumented workers that were ineligible to collect federal stimulus checks.

A total of $2billion in the state’s surplus was allocated for undocumented workers who earned less than $26,206 in 2020.

The fund has now been completely allocated.

Roberta Reardon, commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor said of the program, “It exemplifies the values of New York State and our ability to look out for our neighbors during the most difficult of times.”

Richmond property owners get new rebate

A deal has been made to give hundreds of thousands of Richmond residents property tax rebates next year under an $18million plan.

Richmond, Virginia Mayor Levar Stoney and six city council members have agreed on a plan to send out rebates which would reduce a property owner’s tax bill by five cents per $100 of assessed property.

Currently, property owners pay $1.20 for every $100 of property, but under the mayor’s Five Back initiative that number would go down to $1.15.

“So, a home assessed at $350,00 and a real estate tax bill of $4,200 would receive a one-time rebate of $175,” Mayor Levar Stoney said.

The rebates will cost the city $18million taken from its budget surplus for 2022.

More on Rhode Island’s electric car rebate

Rhode Island is offering a rebate program as an incentive for residents to choose greener cars.

The program began in July with a budget of $1.25million and is now down to about $829,000, WPRI News reports.

The most popular car brands are Chevrolet, Hyundai, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen.