Illinois Family Relief Package Begins on July 1
Chicago, Ill. – The Illinois Family Relief Plan, approved by lawmakers in April, will begin tomorrow, July 1. This relief package provides nearly $2 billion in relief on grocery tax, gas tax, and property taxes for Illinoisans who continue to struggle with record-level inflation.
"The Illinois Family Relief Plan helps to ease inflationary pressures felt by families across this state at a time they need it most," said House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch. "Because of consistent, responsible budgeting by Democrats, we’re able to cut taxes on everyday necessities like groceries and freeze taxes on gas, while also providing much-needed property tax rebates. We know people are struggling and I'm grateful we're able to put money back into the pockets of hardworking Illinoisans."
Thanks to the leadership of Democrats in the state legislature and Governor JB Pritzker, Illinois is consistently passing balanced budgets that have earned the state 6 credit upgrades and have paid down a bill backlog that reached nearly $17 billion dollars under the previous Republican administration. Due to this financial stability and building back up the state's rainy day fund, Illinois is in a position to provide necessary relief to residents.
The Family Relief Plan includes tax holidays on:
Groceries: The state's 1% sales tax on groceries will be suspended July 1 through June 30, 2023, saving consumers $400 million.
Gas: The state's normally scheduled increase in the motor fuel tax will be delayed from July 1 to January 2023, saving consumers $70 million.
School supplies: Sales taxes for qualified clothing and school-related items will be reduced from 6.25% to 1.25% for a 10-day window from August 5 to 14, saving consumers $50 million.
This plan also permanently expands the state's earned income credit from 18% to 20% of the federal credit, while expanding the number of households covered. This puts an additional $100 million per year back into the pockets of working families who need it the most.
Additionally, property tax rebates will be issued for eligible homeowners in an amount equal to the property tax credit they qualified for on their 2021 Illinois tax returns, up to a maximum of $300. Individuals who made less than $200,000 in 2021 will receive $50 income tax rebates. Couples filing jointly with incomes under $400,000 will receive $100. Tax filers will also receive $100 per dependent they claimed on their 2021 taxes, up to three dependents.
These rebates will be automatically issued to an estimated 6.2 million taxpayers who qualify under the Family Relief Plan based on information included in their 2021 tax returns. These rebates are expected to be sent beginning in mid-September. Eligible taxpayers who did not file their 2021 IL-1040 individual income tax returns but want to claim the rebates, can do so. The Department of Revenue will provide an online submission form at www.tax.illinois.gov.
Rebates will be sent automatically using the same method original refunds were transmitted. If direct deposit was used, the individual rebate will be deposited directly into a taxpayer's account. If there was no refund or a paper refund was issued, the rebate will be mailed to the address on file. Taxpayers who did not receive a refund directly from the State of Illinois, such as those who received an advance of their refund from their tax preparer, will receive a paper rebate check mailed to the address on file.