Are stimulus checks for inflation taxable?

Even though this year no stimulus checks have been granted at the federal level, several states in the country, at least 16, have taken it upon themselves to authorize their own relief checks to help their residents combat the high costs of inflation.

When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delivered the first, second and third stimulus checks, though, some people had doubts about whether they had to pay taxes on the money received, and at the time, the answer was a resounding NO. As with the federal stimulus checks, the reality is that the inflation stimulus checks are also not taxable.

The main reason is that none of these checks are considered part of the gross income of individuals, that’s why they cannot be subject to the payment of taxes.

Related: Inflation Relief Checks live online updates by state: California, Florida

It’s also worthy to note that several of these inflation stimulus checks have been granted as a tax refund and, therefore, do not alter the gross income of the beneficiaries.

These stimulus checks have been authorized as the United States is experiencing one of the highest inflations in recent times. According to data from the country’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), year-on-year inflation of 8.3% was reported in August, 8.6% in July, and the verified interannual inflation was 9.1% in June.

Although the US Federal Reserve has made efforts to litigate high consumer price indices, they have not succeeded. That’s even given the fact that interest rates have been increased at the federal level three times in a row so far in 2022.

Both retirees and residents in general have requested that a new stimulus check be approved at the federal level, but the response from President Joe Biden’s administration has been the same since last year: they don’t reject it, but say it is unlikely that something like this could happen in the short term.