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AMERICANS are receiving automatic payments between $200 and $1,050 this week.

The direct payments come from a $9.5billion pot - part of California's Middle Class Tax Refund.

The one-time payment is to provide relief for California taxpayers.

The refunds started going out in October 2022 in the form of debit cards or direct deposits.

However, payments continue until January 14, 2023 for direct deposit recipients who have changed their banking information since filing their 2020 tax return.

You are eligible to receive a refund if you filed your 2020 tax return by October 15, 2021 and meet the income limits.

Follow our stimulus live blog for more news and updates...

Austin will increase E-bike rebates this month

Austin is planning to hike the current rebates for individuals and groups who purchase E-bikes, according to a memo from city officials.

The maximum rebate total for single E-bike purchases would increase from $600 to $1300 with combined rebates from Austin Energy (AE) and The Austin Transportation Department (ATD)

While group, multi-bike purchases would not be eligible for the ATD rebate, the maximum rebate would increase from $400 to $800 per unit.

In addition to E-bikes, most electric two-wheel vehicles, like mopeds and motorcycles, will also qualify.

City officials may adjust the specifics of the rebate expansion based on community feedback, the memo stated.

Boise announces property tax rebate

Boise, Idaho will be providing certain homeowners with a property tax rebate next year, the city announced last month.

Citizens who already qualified for the statewide Circuit Breaker Program and rebate will be eligible for the Property Tax Rebate Program.

Applicants must own a home less than $1.2million in value, which is 150 percent of the median assessed value for Ada County.

Applications opened on December 1 2022 and conclude on May 1, 2023.

Fort Wayne’s $51million relief plan, continued

The city will also provide money for parks and streetscapes:

Brewer Park: $2million
Packard Park: $1.8million
Franke Park phase one: $5million
Streetscape improvements along Pontiac Street: $1.7million

Fort Wayne’s $51million relief plan

The Indiana town, Fort Wayne, has finally decided how to spend its $51million from the American Rescue Plan.

Nearly $2million is allocated to community grocery stores in southeast Fort Wayne.

This will help the stores offer nutritious food and fresh produce at more affordable prices and aid with job and skills training.

Front-line employees receive bonus

Augusta, Georgia is rewarding city employees who worked jobs during the pandemic and were put at the highest risk of contracting coronavirus.

Under the plan, the money depends on the number of hours worked and the job category, according to a report from the Kennebec Journal (KJ).

For example, the majority of full-time city workers qualify for $500 bonuses, while part-timers are set to get $250.

But if you happen to work in the line of public safety, custodial, dispatch, or rubbish collection, you could be eligible for another $500.

Full-time workers in one of those groups would receive a total of $1,000, while part-timers can get $500.

Denver gives e-bike rebates

On January 31, the city of Denver is providing residents with rebates if they own an electric bike.

The instant refunds are worth $300.

Last year, more than 4.700 e bike vouchers were used.

Pennsylvania drivers receive $3,000 rebates

Depending on household income, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) now offers rebates for drivers who go electric.

The payments are on a sliding scale from $2,000 or $3,000 after the (DEP) recently changed the maximum amount received from $750 and $1,000 for low-income applicants.

The program will offer rebates starting September 1 until June 30, 2023.

Low-income residents in NY eligible for $500 payments

Hundreds of low-income residents in Rochester, New York are set to receive $500 reoccurring payments in just a few months.

“The GBI program will provide marginalized communities with critical resources and help to close the community’s wealth gap while boosting our residents’ ability to become homeowners,” city officials said in a statement.

The guaranteed income pilot is available thanks to the county’s council voting last year to allocate a total of $2.2million towards the program.

Income must be at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level to qualify for the program.

A Rochester spokesperson told The Center Square that a different group of 175 residents will be getting $500 payments in 2023, which is set to launch in early 2023.

What is FAFSA?

Federal Student Aid is a part of the US Department of Education and FAFSA is a free application to college students to help determine if they qualify for federally funded financial aid as well as other loans and grants.

FAFSA is just the application process and does not actually provide the funds to students.

If students are awarded federal aid, it is then based on the FAFSA form and includes the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, and federal student loans.

The FAFSA form is also used to determine eligibility for state grants and institutional grants from colleges and universities.

Where these grants and scholarships differ from student loans is that they do not need to be repaid – unless you don’t meet specified requirements.

Students can start applying for FAFSA

The Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has officially opened for the 2023-2024 school year.

The sooner you file the better, but the deadline isn’t until June 30, 2024.

The applications are typically chosen on a first-come-first-serve basis so filling them out sooner rather than later can be crucial.

Some states also have their own deadlines in place, so it’s best to start sooner rather than later.

Guaranteed Income for Trans People in San Fran

The Guaranteed Income for Trans People program will send $1,200 monthly direct payments to qualifying applicants.

The program will last 18 months and is run in partnership with the city government, the Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, and a nonprofit called Transgender District.

To qualify, you must identify as either transgender, non-binary, intersex, or gender nonconforming.

Applicants must also be at least 18 years old, reside in San Franciso, and earn less than $600 per month.

Those who meet the qualifications can apply online for the monthly payment.

New Hampshire offers energy rebate

Around $104million is available to millions of New Hampshire families in the form of energy rebates and fuel assistance.

Around $70million will go into home energy rebate programs and $34million will go to the state’s fuel assistance program.

The fuel assistance program opened earlier this week and already 22,000 have applied, that’s 6,000 more than last year.

Fuel benefits range from $304 to $3,024, depending on household income and energy costs, according to the state.

The average payment is $1,342.04, and the payments will not hinder any public assistance someone is receiving.

San Antonio helps with electric bills

San Antonio residents who were plagued with sky-high electric bills will get a little bit of relief through a rebate.

Customers will get back approximately 13 percent of their July electric bills, coming to an average of about $29 per household.

There are special options available to those receiving the rebate as well.

In fact, residents can choose if they want to keep the rebate for themselves or pass it to low-income residents who need help paying their bills.

They could also opt to send the rebate to be held for city funding to increase weatherization efforts in Texas.

Universal Basic Income in Houston

Eligible Houston, Texas residents were able to claim for cash under the city’s pilot program which will give $375 a month for one year.

Houston residents experiencing economic hardship qualify for the program.

The full list of requirements are as follows:

Must be a resident of Houston
Must be at least 18 years old at the time of application
Must have a household income at or below the federal poverty level

A total of 110 people will be chosen through a selection process.

The application window closed on May 25.

Guaranteed income program offers two years of payments

The Cook County Promise program will pay 3,250 eligible families $500 a month in no-strings-attached direct income for two years.

The county will choose the recipients from a lottery this month.

Over 184,000 residents applied before the October deadline, according to Cook County officials.

Those selected should have begun receiving the funds in December.

Massachusetts rebate disappoints several residents

A rebate in Massachusetts is not what many residents expected.

Some are getting as little as $9 back, while others get as much as $20,000..

The rebates are equal to 13 percent of a resident’s 2021 state income tax liability, with an average rebate sitting at $529, reports Mass Live.

However, households that are part of the bottom 20 percent of earners will get an average credit of just $9, while the middle 20 percent will get about $208.

Households with incomes of $1million or more could see a credit of more than $22,000.

Florida City offering ‘gold’ energy rebates

Tallahassee, Florida is encouraging property owners to switch to natural gas appliances with rebates of up to $2,000.

The push for natural gas is meant to reduce the city’s demand for electricity.

Applicants can get a total of 10 rebates to install new gas furnaces, water heaters, pool heaters as well as a host of other gas-powered appliances.

The city will even provide the gas from the street at no extra charge.

To see if they qualify, residents can fill out either the residential or commercial rebate applications.

Tax refunds expected to decline in 2023

Many Americans were pleasantly surprised to receive a larger tax refund this year due to state surpluses.

In addition, temporary programs like federal stimulus checks and the Child Tax Credit program increased the average tax return by nearly 14 percent, according to the IRS.

Taxpayers were able to claim the fourth federal stimulus checks if they didn’t receive them in 2021.

Families also could claim a third check for children born in 2021.

Which state spent the most on stimulus checks?

Citizens across the country received financial aid over the last two years through direct payments.

These “state stimulus checks” helped residents make ends meet at the height of the pandemic, and during the historic inflation that followed.

Of all the states, Maine shelled out the most money to residents with checks going out for amounts between $850 and $1,700.

The payments depended on income and filing status, according to Yahoo Finance.

Inflation Reduction Act rebates, continued

The tax credits for buying electric vehicles apply to both new and used cars.

Although this law has been on the books for some time now, it was tweaked when the Inflation Reduction Act was signed.

Those who buy a new car will get up to $7,500 credit, and those who buy used cars will get up to $4,000.

It’s important to note the amount you’ll get depends on things like household income and the sale price of the vehicle.

Purchases of used vehicles will qualify for the tax break starting in 2023.

Thousands of dollars of rebates in Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act includes tax credits and rebates for those who turn to cleaner energy sources.

The act provides credits for those who buy electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances, install solar panels in their home, and more reports CNBC.

However, these incentives have different timelines for when payments will start going out.

Some consumers may have to wait until 2024 to reap the benefits.

Some Iowans to get $1400

The Direct Assistance Program in Johnson County was launched to provide low-income workers with a stimulus boost.

It was funded using $2million from Johnson County, $1.35million from Iowa City, and $27,000 from Coralville.

But, $2.68million of the funding was originally used, meaning more than 300 applicants were left out.

Officials claimed that the workers were excluded because they lived outside of Iowa City limits, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Over $1billion in rebates sent to Illinois residents

Illinois residents have received a total of $1billion in income and property tax rebates under the Illinois Family Relief Plan.

The rebates were designed to help struggling families make ends meet, according to the Illinois Senate Democrats.

Families who filed 2021 state taxes were eligible to receive up to $700 and those who filed property taxes were eligible to receive up to $300.

Excluded worker stimulus comes to a close

The last round of excluded worker payments has been sent in New York.

The Excluded Workers Fund was expanded in 2022 to provide aid for undocumented workers that were ineligible to collect federal stimulus checks.

A total of $2billion in the state's surplus was allocated for undocumented workers who earned less than $26,206 in 2020.

The fund has now been completely allocated.

Roberta Reardon, commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor said of the program, “It exemplifies the values of New York State and our ability to look out for our neighbors during the most difficult of times.”

Used electric vehicles qualify for rebate

If you’re looking to save some extra cash by purchasing a used vehicle, you’re in luck as you can still get a credit worth up to $4,000.

Similar to the new vehicle credits, there are limits on used EVs. They are:

Income requirements: Consumers qualify if their modified adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 for married couples or $75,000 for single filers
Vehicle price: The sale price can’t exceed $25,000
Sale qualifications: Buyers only get the credit if it’s the first sale of the used vehicle. They can also only get the credit once every three years
Vehicle qualifications: The car model must be at least two years old