Friday is the deadline to file for this year’s Permanent Fund dividend.
The state’s online PFD application will be available until 11:59 p.m. on Friday. Any applications submitted or postmarked after Friday will be denied.
The PFD is the annual payout Alaska residents receive from the state’s oil revenue fund, started in the 1970s.
The main requirement for eligibility is that you’ve lived in Alaska for the entire preceding calendar year, and that you intend to stay here indefinitely.
“If you’re applying for this year’s PFD, you need to have been a resident all of last year — that’s Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022,” said Genevieve Wojtusik, the director of the Permanent Fund Dividend Division.
There are a few other criteria and exceptions detailed on the PFD website, pfd.alaska.gov. Wojtusik encourages people to apply online and said those who do and request direct deposit will get their payments in the first round of distributions.
Wojtusik said there are over 100 sites around the state where you can fill out a paper application, in addition to the offices in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks.
First-time filers will need to present documentation establishing residency like a moving or rent receipt, but Wojtusik emphasized that these are not required by the Friday deadline.
“The only thing required by March 31, is that you actually get your application in,” she said. “So we encourage everyone that plans to apply to do so. And if we need backup documentation, for a first-time filer, we will reach out to you or you can provide it at a later date. But we just encourage all to apply by March 31.”
The first round of payments usually goes out the first week of October. The 2023 amount is currently being debated in the state Legislature. At $3,284, last year’s check was among the highest after adjusting for inflation.
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Michael Fanelli reported on economics and hosted the statewide morning news at Alaska Public Media.
