The Rhode Island Child Tax Rebate Explained
A guide to the 2022 Rhode Island Child Tax Rebate, explaining how the state used 2021 tax data to automatically issue financial relief to families.
In 2022, the state of Rhode Island provided a one-time Child Tax Rebate to certain families. This temporary relief measure, which is no longer available, was included in the state’s fiscal year 2023 budget to offer financial relief to households with children. This initiative was separate from any federal child tax credits and was administered directly by the Rhode Island Division of Taxation.
Eligibility for the Rebate
Eligibility for the Rhode Island Child Tax Rebate was based on information from 2021 state and federal income tax returns. To qualify, a taxpayer must have been a Rhode Island resident for the entire 2021 tax year. The primary requirement centered on federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as reported on the 2021 tax filing. Individual filers, heads of household, and married individuals filing separately needed an AGI of $100,000 or less, while the AGI threshold for those married filing a joint return was $200,000.
A further condition for eligibility involved having a qualifying child. A qualifying child was defined as being 18 years of age or younger on December 31, 2021. This child must have been claimed as a dependent on the taxpayer’s 2021 federal and state income tax returns.
Rebate Calculation
As long as a taxpayer’s AGI was below the established $100,000 or $200,000 threshold, they received the full amount for which they were eligible. The rebate provided a payment of $250 for each qualifying child claimed on the 2021 tax return.
There was a cap on the total rebate amount a single household could receive. The program limited the payment to a maximum of three children. This meant that an eligible family could receive a total rebate of up to $750. For instance, a qualifying family with one child received $250, a family with two children received $500, and a family with three or more children received the maximum of $750.
How Payments Were Issued
The distribution of the Child Tax Rebate was an automatic process for eligible taxpayers. There was no application to fill out; the Rhode Island Division of Taxation automatically identified qualifying families using the 2021 income tax returns that had been filed.
Payments began to be issued in October 2022. The rebates were sent as paper checks through the mail to the address listed on the taxpayer’s 2021 Rhode Island personal income tax return. For taxpayers who filed an extension, checks were mailed after their 2021 return was received and processed.