Minnesota Reissues Nearly 150,000 Expired One-Time Tax Rebate Checks

What Minnesota Announced

The Minnesota Department of Revenue said on November 15, 2023 that it would begin reissuing nearly 150,000 one-time tax rebate checks that had gone uncashed and expired 60 days after their original August and September 2023 mailing dates. The first batch was sent the week of November 15, 2023, with a second batch scheduled for early December 2023. Each reissued check is valid for 60 days from its new issuance date.

Why the Checks Expired

The original rebate checks were printed with a 60-day validity period. Many recipients set them aside, mistook the plain white envelopes for junk mail, or simply did not deposit them in time. Under state law, the paper instruments became void once the 60 days elapsed, requiring the Department of Revenue to formally reissue them.

How the Reissued Checks Are Arriving

Like the originals, the replacement checks are being mailed in plain white envelopes and are signed by Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart. Distribution is again being handled by Submittable Holdings, Inc., a Missoula, Montana company contracted by the state. The department noted that the checks are protected by standard banking safeguards designed to detect and deter fraud, and it urged recipients to deposit them promptly.

Who Was Eligible for the Rebate

The one-time rebate, authorized by the Minnesota Legislature in 2023, was aimed at roughly 2.1 million Minnesotans. To qualify, a person had to be a Minnesota resident for part or all of 2021, have filed a 2021 Form M1 (individual income tax) or Form M1PR (homestead credit/renter's refund) by December 31, 2022, and meet income limits: adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less for single and other filers, or $150,000 or less for married couples filing jointly. Anyone who could be claimed as a dependent on another filer's 2021 Minnesota return was excluded, as were most taxpayers who died before January 1, 2023.

How Much the Payments Are Worth

Eligible filers receive $260 as an individual or $520 as a married couple filing jointly, plus $260 for each dependent claimed on the 2021 return, up to three dependents. That brings the maximum payment to $1,300 for a qualifying family. Taxpayers who provided direct-deposit banking information on their 2021 state returns received the money electronically; everyone else got a paper check, which is the group affected by this reissuance.

What Happens If a Reissued Check Is Also Not Cashed

The Department of Revenue said it would work with taxpayers who remain eligible but still do not receive their rebate after the reissued checks void in early 2024. Any rebate funds that stay unclaimed after that window are transferred to the Minnesota Department of Commerce's Unclaimed Property Division, where residents can later search for and claim them.

What Recipients Should Do Now

Minnesotans who believe they qualified but never cashed their original rebate are advised to watch the mail closely for a plain white envelope from the State of Minnesota, confirm their current mailing address is on file with the Department of Revenue, and deposit any reissued check within the 60-day validity period. Questions can be directed to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.