First batch of automatic tax refund checks due in Indiana mailboxes this week

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Check printing was underway Wednesday for 1.7 million automatic taxpayer refund checks and the first batch of checks should reach Hoosier mailboxes later this week, according to State Auditor Tera Klutz.

“To those Hoosiers who have been patiently waiting for their check, I want to say — the wait is over! We have successfully printed the first round of checks, which eligible Hoosiers should start to see receive this weekend,” Klutz said in a statement.

The money for the checks came from Indiana’s budget surplus.How

To qualify for the $125 check (or $250 if filed jointly), Hoosier taxpayers would have had to file an Indiana individual tax return for 2020 postmarked by Jan. 3, 2022.

On Aug. 5, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act 2 into law, securing a second check — this one worth $200 — for Hoosier taxpayers.

How taxpayers receive their money will depend on how they filed their 2020 individual income tax returns.

Taxpayers who used direct deposit on their 2020 tax return should have already received their $125 direct deposit. If they have not received a direct deposit, they will get a combined check from the state for $325 (or $650 if filed jointly).

Klutz says check printing was delayed by a paper shortage.

“We typically don’t print this many checks at one time, which created the challenge of locating the amount of paper required to print the 1.7 million checks needed,” Klutz said. “Luckily, this challenge became a ‘blessing in disguise’ since the paper arrived within days of SEA 2 becoming law, enabling us to send Hoosiers one check instead of two which saves the State an additional $1 million in processing, printing, and postage costs.”

Klutz expects all 1.7 million refund checks being mailed by early October.