AUGUSTA — The Department of Administrative and Financial Services announced Monday afternoon it has successfully processed and sent $850 relief checks to all verified eligible Maine taxpayers who have filed tax returns to date.

The Department has sent a total of 784,028 payments to Maine taxpayers, representing 91 percent of the 858,000 estimated recipients. Maine Revenue Services, a division of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, will continue to process checks weekly as Maine taxpayers continue to file their returns. The deadline to file returns is October 31.

“Knowing how much Maine people needed the relief, Governor Mills directed the Department to get these checks into the hands of Maine people as quickly as possible – and we got it done, delivering the money within 90 days to all the taxpayers who had filed their returns,” said Kirsten Figueroa, Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. 

Governor Mills proposed, and the Legislature overwhelmingly approved, the relief payments as part of the Supplemental Budget the Governor signed into law earlier this year. The payments give back more than half of the State’s surplus – $729.3 million – in the form of one-time, $850 checks to an estimated 858,000 Maine people to help defray rising costs. The average Maine family received $1,700 in relief.

The payments utilized resources from Fiscal Year 2022, meaning they have been completely paid for and are not reliant upon forecasts of future funding.

The Department is working with community partners to promote the relief payments, and other tax benefits signed into law by the Governor, to reach those who may not know about them or know that a 2021 Maine State tax return is required to receive them.

For the purposes of claiming the $850, a Maine person who is typically a non-filer can follow the same process they use to claim the Property Tax and Sales Tax Fairness credits, a process that doesn’t require them to file a federal return.

To file a Maine State tax return and qualify for the $850 payment:

1. Complete Schedule PTFC/STFC in full: https://www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/21_1040me_dwnldff.pdf  

2. Answer these questions on the 1040-ME form:
Check Box A and answer questions 1 – 13a. Then, transfer the appropriate information from Schedule PTFC/STFC to answer questions 25d. through 33e. as appropriate.
https://www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/21_1040me_sched_pstfc_dwnldff.pdf  

Maine people who are eligible and have not received their relief checks by the beginning of August can go to the online portal, enter in the necessary information and receive a status on their payment: https://portal.maine.gov/refundstatus/payment.