Stimulus payments are always welcomed by the vast majority of citizens. Whether it is through federal initiatives across the nation or specific to your state, these payments are intended to alleviate expenses and other financial burdens for individuals. While a widespread stimulus initiative by the federal government has not occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic, individual state initiatives still occur. If you live in this state, you could be seeing a $1,000 stimulus payment coming your way.
Stimulus payments help to alleviate financial burdens
Stimulus payments are one way the federal government can offer widespread reach to families who are affected by the economic crisis. The last time the federal government enacted such a widespread initiative was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Biden Administration released three rounds of stimulus payments to qualifying families to help alleviate the financial stress the pandemic caused due to widespread job loss and retrenchment.
In total, over 476 million payments were distributed to citizens over two years. This amounted to approximately $814 billion. The payments varied based on income, tax filing status, and number of dependents, with the first round providing up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per qualifying child, the second up to $600 per individual, and the third up to $1,400 per person. Recently, citizens who did not claim the third and final round of payments had the opportunity this tax season to claim their payments.
“Eligible taxpayers who did not file must file a tax return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit, even if their income from a job, business or other source was minimal or non-existent,” the IRS said.
$1,000 stimulus payment for this state
On a smaller scale, some citizens can begin to expect to receive a $1,000 payment. However, this payment is limited to citizens of Pennsylvania. The payment is for the property tax rebate program. The program is specifically aimed towards the following individuals:
- Homeowners and renters aged 65 and older
- Widows or widowers aged 50 and older who are homeowners or renters
- People with disabilities aged 18 and older who are homeowners or renters.
To claim up to $1,000 from the program, you also need to meet certain income requirements. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, the minimum payment you can receive from the program is $380. To qualify for the program, your income cannot exceed $46,520 per annum. If you want to receive the full $1,000 payment, your income must be between $0-$8,270 per annum.
Further, the program also offers supplemental rebates on top of the property tax rebate already provided. Supplemental rebates provide an additional $190 to $500 in relief to homeowners and renters who are the most in need of assistance in covering their housing costs.
“These rebates are automatically calculated for property owners with $31,010 or less in income whose property taxes are more than 15% of their total income, and for those who live in these locations: Philadelphia, Scranton, and Pittsburgh,” states the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue website.
Rumors of a new $5,000 stimulus payment?
For those homeowners or renters who do not live in Pennsylvania, they may be hoping to contribute towards their property taxes and rent through the rumored $5,000 stimulus payments. Rumors began circulating that this payment would be distributed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should they reach their savings goal of $2 trillion by the end of next July.
However, homeowners and renters will be disappointed to know that this payment is still to be confirmed by the federal government. Further, even if the payment was to happen, DOGE has recently revised their federal spending goal to $150 billion, meaning that this $5,000 amount would not even occur and would look more like $1,000 according to reports. It is important to ensure that you receive your payment updates from official news sources, especially when it comes to stimulus payment reports.
