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He Ministry of Finance May today begins the process to pay out the $ 600 aid to working citizens living in Puerto Rico, after receiving approval from the Federal Treasury of the Distribution Plan of the second round of the Economic Impact Payment, the Governor reported Pedro Pierluisi.
This new $ 600 federal aid will reach nearly 2.8 million people, either as individuals, as a couple, or as a dependent, representing a total of approximately $ 1.7 billion.
“It is with great satisfaction that I inform you that we already have the permission from the federal government to implement the $ 600 additional economic impact payment distribution plan and today the first payments are being made which will be reflected in the bank accounts of thousands of citizens. over the next few days, I must acknowledge the work of the Secretary of the Treasury Department, Francisco Parés Alicea, and his work team, who were able to formalize the agreements with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and get approval over a period of time 23 days after the signing of the legislation at the federal level. There is no doubt that this assistance will be a relief to many families adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency and we will work diligently to ensure that the disbursements are made as soon as possible. possible, ”the president said in a statement.
On December 28, 2020, just hours after the federal law was signed giving way to this second $ 600 round of payments known as the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 (CRTRA), the Hacienda has submitted a draft distribution plan for the consideration of the IRS. The initial $ 1,200 economic impact payment plan took 36 days to approve.
“About 23 days after submitting our proposed draft to the IRS, we already have a distribution plan approved by the Federal Treasury, and just hours after receiving that approval, we started sending out $ 600 payments. expected, this payout process will be much faster because in 95 percent of cases, the department already has the necessary bank details to make a direct deposit. We have prepared a work plan that considers hundreds of thousands of consecutive payments, almost daily, for the coming weeks. ”, Explained the secretary.
Parés Alicea estimated that most payments, which will be $ 600 per person and $ 600 per qualified dependent, or $ 300 in joint custody cases, will be completed in mid-February. “In three or four weeks, 95 percent of the people who qualify for this new aid will have deposited their money or have their check pending,” he said.
As provided by federal law, these additional payments will be received by persons with valid Social Security, who have been residents of Puerto Rico during the tax year and who have not been claimed as dependents on someone else’s income tax return.
Under the new CRTRA law, the admission guidelines make certain areas more flexible so that more citizens qualify. For example, under this distribution plan, detainees may be eligible for the payment of $ 600. No withholding is given for outstanding debts with the Child Support Administration (ASUME). In the case of married couples, at least one of them must have a Social Security number that is validated with IRS protocols.
On the other hand, the secretary stressed that the Unified Internal Revenue System (SURI) will operate exclusively for the distribution of aid tomorrow, Wednesday January 20, and therefore will not be available for any other transaction, at least 24 hours.
“Because we are aware of the need for people to receive payment of $ 600, we are going to prioritize depositing this money, temporarily suspending all services offered through SURI. In this way we also protect the system to avoid further setbacks and to ensure that we successfully meet this extraordinary fund allocation agenda. SURI will be running at full speed from Thursday 21 January 2021 ”, he explains.
The SURI outage coincides with the filing date of the monthly Sales and Use Tax (SUT) return, which traders file on the 20th of each month. However, Parés Alicea has indicated that both the declaration and the corresponding payment with this declaration, as well as any other declaration, notification, notice of objection or any other procedure or payment of dues whose due date is January 20, 2020, will run until Monday, January 25, 2020.
Parés Alicea stressed that most people who received the $ 1,200 don’t need to do any procedures in SURI if they have the same bank account, so there’s no need for them to enter SURI. On the other hand, he stressed that a link is only available in SURI for those people who changed the bank accounts on which they received the $ 1,200, either as a result of the recent merger between two banks or because they opened new accounts. The link is also available for those who have received the initial payment of $ 1,200 by check and would like to receive the additional $ 600 per direct deposit.
Registration in SURI is not necessary to change the account number. Accessible through the link Federal Economic Impact Payment which is on the main page suri.hacienda.pr.gov and then in option Update your account information. If you need help, write via the link Assistance in Suri which is also on SURI’s homepage.