Starting Thursday, June 2, the State of Maine began sending $850 relief checks out to about 858,000 Mainers. All of this money comes from a budget surplus of $729.3 million, half of which will be refined to Mainers in the form of relief checks to help give us a boost with the price of oil, gas, food and just about everything going through the roof.

Are You Eligible For a Relief Check?

You probably are. If you've already filed your 2021 Maine income tax return, you're eligible right now. If you haven't, you'll need to file a 2021 Maine tax return by October 31, 2022. If you do, then you'll still be able to get a check. If you don't, well you missed the boat.

You also have to make sure you don't make too much money to be eligible for a relief check. You're eligible under these conditions:

 

  • You made no more than $100,000 if filing single or if married and filing separately
  • You made no more $150,000 if filing as head of household
  • You made no more than $200,000 for couples filing jointly.

That's most of us in Maine, so I'm patiently waiting for my check. Wait. A check? I can't remember the last time I held a physical check in my hand. Why is Maine mailing checks in 2022? Am I not understanding this correctly.

When I filed my 2021 Maine Income Tax Return, I provided all my information to receive my refund via an electronic transfer to my bank account. You know, the way we handle most payments these days? When I got the stimulus payments from the United States Government, they sent them electronically because they had all my info on file from my tax return. Why can't Maine do that?

Now I understand, that not everyone has the ability or even wants an electronic transfer. That's fine. If Maine doesn't have an electronic transfer on file for an individual, send them a check, but do yourself and us a favor Maine and send those that do that relief money by transfer.

The State even has an issue of possibly not having enough envelopes. Come on, guys! The solution is right there. Welcome to 2022. I threw my checkbook out a long time ago.

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