There’s a Stimulus Check going out to residents of Alaska in February 2025 and it will be a welcome bonus, especially to lower-income recipients who feel the pressure of inflation the most.
The administrators of the Alaskan Oil and Gas Income Distribution program confirmed that this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend payment is higher than last year’s by almost 30%, which is certain to stimulate local economies and ease thousands of families’ financial strain.
Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend Stimulus Checks are going out
The Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is a program that shares the profits generated by state oil and gas resources with its residents. Each year, a Stimulus Check is paid out under the Oil and Gas Income Distribution program, and the amount varies depending on how much revenue was generated.
The PFD check for 2024, which is being distributed in February 2025, is $1,702. This is an increase of around $400 from last year’s amount of $1,312, which is due to the state’s positive economic performance and its government’s commitment to sharing the benefits of state resources with its residents.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy confirmed the funding after several sessions with the House of Representatives, where it was disclosed that profits generated by the sale of natural resources amounted to $914 million in 2024.
Who is eligible for the 2024 PFD Stimulus Check?
These are the criteria to qualify for the Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend Stimulus Checks:
- Applicants must be a registered resident of Alaska.
- They must have lived in the state for the entire year preceding the date of the application.
- Residents must plan to remain a resident of the state indefinitely.
- Applicants may not have applied to be a resident of any other state or country.
- They should have no plans to leave Alaska in the short term.
- Alaskans who were imprisoned for a felony or for certain misdemeanors for the entire previous 12 months will not be eligible.
Information released by state revenue officials says that more than 600,000 Alaskans have qualified for this round of PFD funding. The dividend amount for distribution in 2025 was calculated based on the fund’s earnings reserve account, which accumulated a considerable $914,315,845.
The total amount is $1,702, but this is actually made up of $298.17 for energy assistance and $1,403.83 for the PFD share. The severe snowstorms that slammed the state this winter galvanized the state government to enact a 2024 Stimulus Check increase to mitigate energy and heating costs for Alaskans.
The initial proposed PFD amount was higher
In December 2024, Governor Mike Dunleavy put forward a dividend amount of $3,500 with the aim of addressing a projected billion-dollar deficit. However, the state legislature decided that a more modest amount was in order. The State House approved a payment of approximately $2,300 in April, but the state was still left with an estimated $270 million deficit. Unexpected oil revenue gains saw the final figure settle at $1,702.
Other payments that are going out to eligible Americans in February are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) refunds from the IRS.
What are the dates for application and payment distribution?
Applications for the PFD funding opened on January 1, 2025, and will close on March 31. Residents of Alaska who have already submitted their applications and have been assessed as “Eligible-Not-Paid” will receive their deposits on February 20.
There’s still time to apply if you have not done so already, and the process can be completed on the Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend official website (pfd.alaska.gov). These later applications will see payments going out in October. These application periods and cutoff dates are important to adhere to if you want to receive your funds as early as possible, and you can visit the same PFD website to track any relevant information about the Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend.
In more good news for Alaskans, there are 13 states in the US that are kinder to retirees in terms of taxes than others, and Alsaka is one of them.