The fifth batch of child tax credit checks started going out on Monday, distributing an estimated $15 billion to 36 million families around the US. Meanwhile, a few hundred thousand families in one state are also getting a new stimulus payment on top of that child tax credit check, and we’ve got all the details right here.
The extra stimulus check is going out to 524,754 residents of Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills just a few days ago announced Disaster Relief Payments of $285. They’re meant as a thank-you to workers who kept essential businesses going during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. And Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services is issuing those checks starting November 15 — disbursing them through the end of this year.
New stimulus payment in Maine
This week @GovJanetMills announced relief checks for frontline workers who kept Maine's economy open during the pandemic. More than 500k Mainers will receive one-time $285 payments in recognition of their hard work this past year. #mepoliticshttps://t.co/YjJ8iDXvnn
— Maine Democrats (@MaineDems) November 12, 2021
“The hardworking men and women who kept our state running through the pandemic deserve our appreciation,” Gov. Mills said, in a statement about the payments. “As a result of the bipartisan budget passed by the Legislature and signed by me, my Administration will send one-time payments of $285 to more than half a million working Maine people. I hope this will help Maine families to some small degree during the holiday season as we work to fully recover our economy.”
The payments are going out to eligible Maine residents in batches. They’ll total between 5,000 and 25,000 checks issued most days over a period of six weeks. The checks are coming in paper form, so no direct deposits, and they’ll all be issued no later than December 31.
The State Tax Assessor determined who’s eligible for these payments based upon tax filings for the 2020 tax year. Among the requirements:
- Recipients must have lived full-time in Maine during 2020. And they must have earned wages, salaries, tips, or other taxable employee pay within the 2020 tax year.
- They must also have reported that income on a Maine individual tax return by October 31, 2021.
- Additionally, eligible recipients must have had adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 (or less than $150,000 if filing jointly) for the 2020 tax year.
Child tax credit payments
As noted above, this new check also comes against the backdrop of another wave of child tax credit payments. The IRS says that families should see these checks in their bank account as direct deposit payments starting today. And as with prior disbursements, most families continue to get these checks via direct deposit.
For those receiving payments by paper check? The tax agency says to plan on extra time, through the end of November, for delivery by mail.
There’s also this helpful piece of information from the IRS. “Any family who receives advance payments of the CTC during 2021 can claim the rest of the credit when they file their 2021 Federal income tax return. To help them do that, early in 2022 families will receive Letter 6419 documenting any advance payments issued to them during 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments.”
