Whitmer: $550 tax refund checks coming for 700,000 Michigan households

• Michigan plans to mail refund checks to anyone who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2022
• Checks will average $550 and benefit an estimated 700,000 households, according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
• The checks will accelerate a planned expansion of the tax credit, which is available to lower-income workers and households

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LANSING — Michigan will send tax credit refund checks averaging $550 to roughly 700,000 lower-income households early next year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday morning. 

Starting Feb. 13, the money will automatically go to those who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2022 because adult earners combined to make less than $59,187.

It's the result of a law the Democratic-led Legislature approved in March to expand the state tax credit from 6 percent to 30 percent of the federal version. 

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Because of a dispute over a broader income tax cut, Republican lawmakers blocked a procedural vote needed to give the law "immediate effect," meaning it won't be operational until Feb. 13. 

But Whitmer said her administration "retained funding" to retroactively distribute the money for the 2022 tax year, as the legislation originally intended.

“This directly benefits half the children in Michigan, and moms and dads can use this extra money at tax time to pay the bills, put food on the table, and buy school supplies," Whitmer said in a statement. 

"We still have more work to do, and today’s announcement will help get you some relief sooner than expected. Let’s keep rolling up our sleeves, lowering costs, and growing our economy."  

Taxpayers who qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit in the 2022 tax year will get a check without having to take additional steps, according to Whitmer.

However, people who moved or want to ensure the state has their correct mailing address can manually update that information online, by phone or mail. 

The Michigan Department of Treasury will confirm eligibility and automatically process checks for workers who submitted their 2022 tax return.

Checks will be mailed on "a rolling basis" as soon as they are printed, beginning Feb. 13, according to Whitmer, who estimates it will take between five and six weeks to distribute all payments. 

The Earned Income Tax Credit is designed to benefit residents who have a job but don't make much money. The size of the credit depends on household income and dependent children.  

For the 2022 tax year, a married couple with three kids qualified if they earned less than $59,187 combined. Individuals without children could qualify if they earned less than $16,480.