August 2021 General Fund Receipts

Summary

Fiscal year-to-date gross receipts on a cash basis are 11.8 percent less compared to August 2020.  July-August receipts are heavily impacted by the filing date changes for individual and corporate income tax returns in calendar year 2020 from April 30 to July 30.  The current estimate for Fiscal Year 2022 is a growth rate of -6.7 percent for gross receipts on a cash basis.

Personal Income Tax

Personal income tax receipts totaled $452.1 million during August 2021.  This is $39.7 million or 9.6 percent more than the receipts of August 2020.  Withholding tax receipts increased $87.1 million or 25.6 percent compared to last year.  Estimated payments increased $0.4 million compared to last year.  Final return payments decreased $47.8 million.  All of the decrease in final return payments can be attributed to the filing date changes for individual income tax returns in calendar year 2020 from April 30 to July 30.  Fiscal year-to-date, personal income tax receipts totaled $735.1 million, a decrease of 25.5 percent.  The estimate for personal income tax for Fiscal Year 2022 is for a decrease of 5.6 percent.

Sales/Use Tax

August sales/use tax receipts totaled $392.8 million, which represents an increase of $56.8 million or 16.9 percent over August 2020.  Fiscal year-to-date, sales/use tax receipts totaled $773.8 million, an increase of $125.6 million or 19.4 percent compared to the same period last year.  The estimate for sales/use tax for Fiscal Year 2022 is for a decrease of 3.2 percent over Fiscal Year 2021.

Corporate Income Tax

Corporate income tax receipts during August totaled $11.8 million, which is $4.3 million or 26.7 percent less than in August 2020.  Fiscal year-to-date corporate income tax receipts totaled $20.2 million, a decrease of $110.9 million or 84.6 percent.  All of the decrease in corporate income tax receipts can be attributed to the filing date changes for corporate income tax returns in calendar year 2020 from April 30 to July 30. The estimate for corporate income tax for Fiscal Year 2022 is for a decrease of 24.5 percent over Fiscal Year 2021.

Refunds

For the month of August, the Department of Revenue issued $31.1 million in refunds on a cash basis.  This compares to $62.7 million issued August 2020.  For the fiscal year-to-date, total refunds issued on a cash basis were $83.4 million.  This compares to $124.2 million issued at this time last year.  

Fiscal Year 2021 Year-to-Date Net General Fund Receipts on an Accrual Basis

As can be seen from the chart below, year-to-date net General Fund receipts have increased 17.0 percent, which is ahead of the REC estimate of 1.9 percent.  However, with the change in filing dates in calendar year 2020 from April 30 to July 30 for individual and corporate income tax returns, it is anticipated when accrual adjustments are made, actual amounts will come closer to the estimates.  We will update this table monthly until the State’s books are closed at the end of September 2021.