Walz: Rebate checks of up to $1,300 will start going out to Minnesota households this week

Tax rebate checks will start going out to Minnesota taxpayers as early as this week, according to Gov. Tim Walz.

On Wednesday, the governor is expected to announce the payments of up to $1,300 per household — $260 for individual filers or $520 for married couples, along with another $260 apiece for up to three dependents.

It’s a cash windfall that many across the state have been anticipating since the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget projected a $9.2 billion budget surplus in February 2022. Walz pitched $1,000 rebates for individual filers and $2,000 for married couples but faced headwinds from Republican lawmakers, who accused him of trying to buy votes in an election year.

In December, the projected budget surplus ballooned to $17.6 billion, a number that held steady as the 2023 legislative session got underway.

Walz renewed his $1,000 proposal this spring, but in the end, lawmakers opted to pare the rebate checks down to $260 in favor of one-time spending in other areas, such as $1 billion in cash for infrastructure projects and paying off U.S. Bank Stadium 23 years early.

More than 2 million households will receive payments, starting with those with direct deposit on file with the state. Paper checks will go out next, and all rebates are expected to be delivered by the end of September, according to the governor’s office.

Individuals who reported $75,000 or less in gross adjusted income on their 2021 tax returns or married couples who made $150,000 or less that year qualify for the payments.