New Arizona Laws That Take Effect Jan. 1 2022

PHOENIX, AZ — A new year means new laws.

Several new laws of note taking effect as of Jan. 1, 2022 include an increase in minimum wage, a change in income taxes and the chance for some adopted Arizonans to get access to their birth certificates.

Minimum wage increase

The state minimum wage will increase from $12.15 per hour to $12.80 per hour on Jan. 1. Voters initially approved a yearly minimum wage increase in 2016, with the increases to be based on cost-of-living after minimum wage reached $12 per hour in 2020. The minimum wage in Arizona in 2016 was $8.05 per hour.

Income tax

As of Jan. 1, 2022, Arizona's four tax brackets will be replaced by two.

This will mean the tax rates for single people and married people filing separately will be 2.55 percent for those making $27,272 and less. The tax rate will be 2.98 percent for single filers making more than $27,272 and joint filers with incomes over $54,544.

Arizona's previous rates ranged from 2.59 percent for single filers with income up to $26,500 to 4.5 percent for single filers with income more than $159,000, with monetary thresholds doubled for those filing jointly.

Birth certificates for adoptees

As of Jan. 1, anyone who was born on or before June 20, 1968 and was adopted in Arizona can access their original birth certificate upon request. For those born after the set date, the release of an Arizona birth certificate requires a court order, as was the case for all Arizona adoptees prior to Jan. 1.

Homestead exemption increase

As of Jan. 1, 2022, Arizona's homestead exemption will increase from $150,000 to $250,000. This means that homeowners can protect more of the equity in their homes when they're in bankruptcy. However, while judgement liens previously did not apply to homestead property, as of the start of 2022, now they do. This means that homeowners would not have access to homestead equity until they pay those lien holders.