Which Households Will See Michigan’s New $550 Tax Refund Check?

You may have heard about the new refund checks but who qualifies, exactly?

I forget that flipping the calendar means looking for my W-2 in the mail. According to the U.S. Social Security Administration employers have until January 31 each year to distribute W-2 forms to employees.

Get our free mobile app

This year the deadline to file your taxes or ask for an extension is: Monday April 15, 2024.

However, certain households across Michigan can expect to see a bigger bump in tax returns this year thanks to new legislature signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. I keep hearing about this "Earned Income Tax Credit" but what even is it? And more importantly who qualifies for it?

According to Bridge Michigan starting on Tuesday, February 13 the State of Michigan will begin retroactively mailing refund checks averaging $550 to some 700,000 households across the state. Adds Bridge Michigan,

The checks will accelerate a planned expansion of the tax credit, which is available to lower-income workers and households...It's the largest Michigan tax code rewrite since 2011

Earned Income Tax Credit

Back in early 2023 Governor Whitmer signed new law which expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income workers, upping the state tax credit from 6% to, "30% of the federal version."

Anyone who qualified for the credit in 2022 will automatically receive their check without any additional steps or forms. The checks will be sent out on a "rolling basis" and should be completed by the end of March 2024.

Who Qualifies?

According to Bridge Michigan the tax credit was first implemented at the federal level as a guaranteed tax refund credit for residents who don't make very much money.

In Michigan, a married couple with three dependents who earned less than a combined $59,187 for the 2022 tax year will qualify for a the credit, as well as individuals who earned less than $16,480.