How soon can you get your SC tax rebate after the Oct. 17 filing deadline?
With the deadline next week for South Carolina residents to file their tax returns for a one-time cash bump, can taxpayers expect their money soon after?
Not likely, state officials say.
State lawmakers in June approved the parameters for a $1 billion tax rebate for South Carolinians. Eligible taxpayers have up to the extension deadline of Oct. 17 to file their state individual income tax return for 2020.
“After the Oct. 17 filing deadline, we will still need to process those returns and use that information to calculate the rebate cap amount, which will take a few weeks, at least,” Rob Walden, spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Revenue, wrote in an email to The State.
Walden wrote that once the department has officially calculated the rebate cap, it will begin issuing the rebates. The cap is currently estimated at $700 but could change once calculations are complete, the revenue department website states.
“We will issue direct deposit rebates and paper check rebates at the same time, though taxpayers receiving paper check rebates will have to wait on mail processing,” Walden wrote.
The state will directly deposit rebates into taxpayers’ bank accounts if the department has that information. About eight in 10 filers choose direct deposit for their refunds, the state has said.
The amount each taxpayer will get will be equal to a his or her 2021 income tax liability up to the finalized cap.
About 1.5 million tax filers could receive rebates.
The state sent $50 checks to taxpayers in 2019 using $61 million in tax dollars generated from a Mega Millions winner to send out rebates. To carry out that program, the state spent $700,000 on postage alone.
The cost of this year’s rebate distribution is currently unknown. It will depend on how many people choose direct deposit over paper checks for refunds and on how much staff time will be needed to distribute the rebates, officials have said.
Click here for instructions on how to calculate your rebate amount.
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
