Minnesota officials plan to send direct rebate payments early this fall

The flurry of activity at the Minnesota Capitol over the past week may have buried the news that Minnesotans will get one-time rebate checks.

Under the tax bill approved by the Legislature, which still has to be signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz, eligible Minnesotans will get $260 — much less than the governor’s $1,000 proposal earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Revenue told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the state anticipates sending the rebates early this fall, which will mark the first time since the early 2000s when Jesse Ventura was governor that the state will send similar rebates to Minnesotans.

So, how will everyone get their payment?

The state says taxpayers won’t have to apply for them. Instead, officials will use information from each taxpayer’s 2021 income or property tax returns to determine eligibility and distribute the payments.

Unfortunately, that also means anyone who didn’t live in Minnesota in 2021, didn’t file a tax return that year, was a dependent at the time, or made more than $150,000 (for joint-filers) or $75,000 (for single-filers) isn’t eligible for a rebate. Also, any children born after that time also won’t be eligible for the additional credit of $260 — which can be applied to up to three children — available under the law.

According to the spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, an estimated 2.55 million households will get the rebates.

Anyone who changed their banking or address information since they filed their 2021 will have a chance to do that this summer. State officials plan to send out more information for Minnesotans at a later time using an online portal similar to one used for the frontline worker payments last fall.

Click here to read more about the Legislature’s activity over the final few days of the session. See the status of several hot-button bills we’ve followed throughout the session with KSTP’s Legislative Tracker.