If you itemized on your 2022 Federal return and the income taxes you paid in 2022 were one of your Schedule A deductions, that’s correct. If you didn’t itemize, then your state income tax refund does not have to be accounted for as income.
Only what you received in 2023 goes on your 2023 tax return. The part of your 2022 refund that you received in 2024 will go on your 2024 tax return. However, because it was a 2022 refund received in 2024, you will need to be sure that your tax software understands it’s a refund from your 2022 return, because there is a different process that it needs to go through, instead of using the regular state and local income tax worksheet.
The process is documented in IRS Pub 525 2023 Publication 525 (irs.gov) in the section for “Itemized Deduction Recoveries”
It needs to be reported on your 2024 Schedule B like other interest income received in 2024. You will probably need to follow your tax software’s instructions for interest not documented on a 1099-INT, assuming that your state doesn’t send you a 1099-INT.
I received some money back from my state in 2023 that related to 2022 taxes. I received a 1099-G. Note down in the text what is says about interest being reported on a 1099-INT. This is Connecticut, so your state might process things differently, but you might want to keep an eye out for that next year.
