On Monday, Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) announced the first round of surplus tax refund checks have been issued to filers in the state.
The refunds are part of House Bill 162, which is legislation passed earlier this year that allows for an additional tax refund on income taxes from 2021 due to Georgia’s tax revenue surplus.
“Georgia is once again in a position to issue surplus tax refunds thanks to years of responsible, conservative budgeting and because we chose to protect both lives and livelihoods during the pandemic,” said Brian Kemp. “While failed policies coming out of Washington, D.C. are pushing us closer to a recession and forcing hardworking Georgians to endure sky-high inflation, we on the state level are doing what we can to return money back where it belongs – in taxpayers’ hands.”
As explained in a press release from Kemp’s office, “Just as with last year’s House Bill 1302, filers must have paid and filed taxes for the prior two tax years to be eligible for the refund. Single filers and married individuals who file separately could receive a maximum refund of $250. Head of household filers could receive a maximum refund of $375. Married individuals who file joint returns could receive a maximum refund of $500. The refund amount will be based on an individual’s tax liability for Tax Year 2021. Additionally, taxpayers claimed as a dependent who had a 2021 tax liability will be eligible for the refund.”
“Our Department successfully issued the majority of HB 1302 refunds by July of 2022, and we plan to build on that success this year,” said Georgia State Revenue Commissioner Frank O’Connell. “We thank the Governor and the General Assembly for working with us through the process of passing and implementing these special refunds out of the state’s revenue surplus.”
The Revenue Department expects the refunds for those who filed their taxes by the April 18 deadline to be issued within the next 8 weeks.