$260 tax rebate checks are available again in Minnesota, but not all.

Thousands of Minnesotans will soon receive $260 rebate checks. $260 tax refund checks issued in Minnesota are nothing new. Rather, the state Department of Revenue is reissuing checks that have expired and have not been cashed since they were originally mailed last year. The Minnesota Department of Revenue plans to begin reissuing checks starting next week.

Minnesota’s $260 Tax Refund Check: Who Will Get It?

On Thursday, the state Department of Revenue announced it would reissue more than 128,000 $260 tax refund checks in Minnesota. The department said it will begin reissuing checks next week and expects the process to be completed by mid-March.

Minnesota originally sent out rebate checks last year, but not all of the checks were cashed within the 60-day validity period. Additionally, when a company in Montana mailed out original checks, many recipients overlooked or threw away the original checks, thinking they were junk mail.

But the new checks will come from the state of Minnesota. If reissued checks remain unclaimed, they will be transferred to the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Unclaimed Property Division.

To receive a refund check, taxpayers must meet income and other requirements, including being a Minnesota resident for part or all of 2021. If the taxpayer resided in the state for only part of the year, the refund amount will be prorated according to: They lived there at the time.

Anyone who is claimed as a dependent by someone else on their 2021 Minnesota income tax return or who died before January 1, 2023, is not eligible for a refund.

If you believe you qualify for a rebate check but have not received it by May 1, you may want to contact the state Department of Revenue at 651-556-300.

Rebate checks are subject to federal taxation.

Minnesota tax refund checks worth about $1 billion were part of a bill that Gov. Tim Walz signed into law last May. The bill returns a portion of the projected $17.6 billion budget surplus to taxpayers.

Anyone with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less ($150,000 or less if married filing jointly) is eligible for a $260 rebate check. Eligible families can also receive $260 per dependent (up to three). So the maximum a family can receive in a tax refund check is $1,300.

The $260 tax refund check you receive in Minnesota will not be taxed on your state income tax return, but will be subject to federal taxation. Recipients will receive Form 1099-MISC to help them file their 2023 income taxes.

According to the IRS, rebate checks do not qualify for pandemic assistance and are therefore subject to federal taxation. The IRS said the federal pandemic emergency declaration expires on May 11, 2023, and Minnesota’s governor signed the $260 rebate bill into law on May 23.

Commenting on the IRS’ decision to tax rebate checks, Governor Walz said he was “very disappointed” and that “Minnesota is being treated unfairly in this regard.”