Energy Relief Checks: Here's Who May Receive $450 This Week!

Thousands of Americans will receive another round of $450 checks this week. The state of Maine handed the first batch of $450 rewards to 5,000 eligible people on January 30.

According to the office of Governor Janet Mills, they were expected to appear in mailboxes by the end of last week. The Maine Revenue Services (MRS) will disburse around 200,000 checks this week.

Who Qualifies to Receive Energy Relief Checks?

The $450 payments are included in the Governor's Emergency Energy Relief Plan, which went into force in January.

A few requirements must be met to be eligible. This includes being a permanent resident with no dependents on their 2021 tax return. The deadline for applications and qualifications was 31 October 2022. According to Marca, there are income restrictions, which include the following:

Under $100,000 per year for single filers
Less than $150,000 per year for heads of household
Less than $200,000 annually for married couples filing jointly

In addition to this week, there are plans to send out more payments. In the following weeks, it is anticipated that the MRS will distribute around 200,000 messages. About 880,000 Maine residents are eligible for the benefits.

They may be scattered randomly or in a predetermined arrangement. The MRS has released a website via which eligible households can track the status of their relief checks.

How to Track Relief Checks?

In a handful of simple steps, you may determine your payment status if you have yet to receive your relief check. It would be best if you initially visited https://portal.maine.gov/refundstatus/payment. To determine the status of your relief check, input your Social Security number, filing status, and federal-adjusted gross income.

The energy assistance plan adopted by the state assembly includes payments of $450 per to an estimated 880,000 people. It adds $40 million to the federal energy assistance program through community action partnerships. In addition, it contains $10 million for emergency fuel assistance and $21 million to enhance an emergency housing aid fund for homeless persons.

Maine Revenue Services mailed the first 5,000 relief checks on Monday, which are scheduled to arrive in households' mailboxes later this week. Beginning next week, a further 200,000 checks will be distributed every week, with the majority of recipients anticipated by the end of March.

Per MSN, the eligibility requirements for the heating relief checks are identical to those for the $850 inflation relief checks distributed by Mills last summer. According to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the standards are based on Maine income tax returns from 2021.

The state has compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions at Maine.gov/energyrelief to assist individuals with any inquiries concerning energy relief payments.

Mills stated in a written statement that the Maine Revenue Services mailed the first 5,000 checks on Monday and would continue distributing around 200,000 checks each week beginning the following Monday. The first checks should begin arriving in mailboxes this week, and "the great bulk" of the almost 880,000 checks will be distributed by the end of March, according to Mills.

Sharon Huntley, spokesperson for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, which controls Maine Revenue Services, stated that the sequence of the payments is determined at random, as opposed to being alphabetical or based on when an individual or couple submitted their 2021 tax forms.

As with past rounds of relief checks, the state chose not to employ direct deposits because it lacks the bank routing details for a large number of taxpayers. Despite the fact that 97% of taxpayers file their tax forms online or have them filed electronically by a third party, fewer than 50% receive their refunds by direct deposit, and some of them change their bank accounts from year to year, according to officials.