Governor Pedro Pierluisi today announced the immediate start of the process to disburse the $ 600 aid to working citizens living in Puerto Rico, following the federal treasury’s approval of the distribution plan for the second round of the economic impact payment.
“It is with great satisfaction that I inform you that we already have the permission of 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, ”said the president.
On December 28, 2020, just hours after the federal law giving way to this second $ 600 round of payments, known as the COVID-related Tax Deduction Act of 2020 (CRTRA, for the acronym in English), was signed. ), the Treasury Department has submitted a draft distribution plan to the IRS for consideration. 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.
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.
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 determined by federal law, these additional $ 600 payments will be received by individuals with valid Social Security, who resided in Puerto Rico during the tax year and who have not been claimed as dependents on anyone 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 reiterated that most people who received the $ 1,200 do not need to complete any procedure in SURI if they have the same bank account, so there is 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. It can be accessed from the Payment of Federal Economic Impact link located on the main suri.hacienda.pr.gov page and then in the Update your account information option. If you need help, write via the Suri Assistance link that is also on the SURI homepage.