DENVER — Watch your mailboxes, Colorado, because the state has already started the process of printing and mailing out 2.4 million checks to Colorado residents as part of TABOR refund program.
Gov. Jared Polis announced on Wednesday that Coloradans will begin to see their checks — $750 for individuals and $1,500 for joint filers — in the next couple of weeks, with the vast majority of Coloradans getting checks next week, the governor said.
“Colorado Cash Back checks are already in the mail system,” Polis said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “And they should start hitting mailboxes later this week, early next week.”
Polis said if you don’t get a check in the mail in the next couple of weeks to not worry until the end of the month when more information will be provided.
For those who have yet to file their 2021 state income tax return, they have until Oct. 17 of this year to be eligible for the payout.
Even zero-income filers are eligible, but a Colorado return must be filed by the October deadline. People who file a return by the extended deadline will receive their check by January 31, 2023.
But most Colorado taxpayers will start to see checks in the mail in the first half of this month if they are 18 years or older, lived in Colorado for all of 2021 and filed a state income tax return.
Where is the money coming from? The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) refunds are not unique to this year.
They happen whenever the state collects above the constitutional cap, and Colorado saw a $2.7 billion surplus this past year thanks to an above-average recovery from the pandemic.
The constitution does not, however, specify how the refunds are to be given out, so the legislature has wide discretion over it.
This year, lawmakers decided to issue the refunds in one-size-fits-all checks.
More information on the Colorado Cash Back program is provided at tax.colorado.gov/cash-back.
The state will also launch a phone line beginning Thursday to answer questions. The number is 303-951-4996 and will operate (beginning Thursday) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.