MAINE, USA —
UPDATE:
RELATED: VERIFY: No, Maine's $850 relief checks will not factor into your 2022 state or federal taxes
Maine Revenue Services updated the response users might receive when they check their payment status.
The status message "We have no record for the information you entered," was updated to provide more clarity on the check status.
"Primarily that the recipient’s eligibility is still being verified before being advanced for payment processing, and they don’t need to worry," a spokesperson for the Department of Administrative & Financial Services wrote to NEWS CENTER Maine in an email.
The new status message is: "If you filed your return by May 31, 2022, your eligibility for the COVID Pandemic Relief Payment is in the process of being verified. The status of your payment will be updated when your eligibility has been verified. Qualifying Maine people who have already filed their 2021 Maine tax return can expect to receive their check by mid-July.”
As each Mainer's payment continues through processing, the website message they receive will provide more details. Mainers will receive subsequent responses outlined below:
Scenario 1 – When your eligibility has been verified and your payment has begun processing:
“Your eligibility for the COVID Pandemic Relief Payment has been verified and your payment is being processed. You should receive your payment within 3 weeks. If you do not receive your payment within 3 weeks, please call our Pandemic Relief Payment assistance line at (207) 624-9924 or email Relief.Payment@maine.gov.”
Scenario 2 – When your payments has been processed and mailed:
“Your COVID Pandemic Relief Payment was mailed on (DATE). If you do not receive your refund within 2 weeks of (DATE), please call our Pandemic Relief Payment assistance line at (207) 624-9924 or e-mail us at Relief.Payment@maine.gov.”
Scenario 3 – If you have been determined ineligible for the COVID Pandemic Relief payment:
“Your eligibility for the COVID Pandemic Relief Payment cannot be verified at this time and a payment will not be mailed to you."
Original story:
The Maine Revenue Services now has a website for people to check the status of their $850 inflation relief payments from the state.
Payment information is updated on Tuesday and Friday nights, according to the website.
More than 850,000 Mainers are slated to receive the checks. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services sent out an initial 5,000 relief checks by mail that were expected to arrive in mailboxes as early as Thursday, June 2. After that, the state said an estimated 200,000 checks per week would be mailed out. All checks are expected to be in the hands of Mainers by mid-July, according to the governor's office.
“The budgets of so many hardworking Maine people have been stretched to the brink by inflation, and while we cannot control inflation or global markets, we can make sure that Maine people have what they need to grapple with these rising costs,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a news release. “Through hard work, Democrats, Republicans, and independents came together to do what is right for Maine people, and, today, I am proud to say that help is on the way. I hope that this will provide at least a small measure of relief during these tough times.”
These are the eligibility requirements for receiving a check:
- You filed a 2021 Maine income tax return no later than Oct. 31, 2022 as a full-year resident.
- Your Federal Adjusted Gross Income (FAGI) on your 2021 Maine income tax return was less than $100,000 (single or married filing separately), $150,000 (head of household), or $200,000 (married joint or surviving spouse).
- You are not claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's 2021 Maine income tax return.
Relief checks will be mailed via U.S. Postal Service to the address provided on your 2021 Maine individual income tax return and will be redirected to any forwarding addresses filed with the U.S. Postal Service, according to the state.
Maine Revenue Services said that if you would like to update your address on record, submit the following to Relief.Payment@maine.gov:
- Your name (printed)
- Your social security number
- Your signature
- Proof of your new address (such as an updated photo ID, a utility bill, lease, etc.).
For more information on changing your address, email Maine Revenue Services at Relief.Payment@maine.gov or call 207-624-9924.