Governor Pedro Pierluisi today announced the immediate start of the $ 600 aid settlement process for citizens working in Puerto Rico after receiving approval from the Federal Treasury of the Distribution Plan for the second round of economic impact payments.
“I am very pleased to inform you that we already have the authorization of the federal government to implement the distribution plan of the additional economic impact payment of 600 USD and today the first payments are made which will be reflected in the bank accounts of thousands of citizens for the next few days. I must acknowledge the work of the Secretary of the Treasury Department, Francisco Parés Alicea, and his team, who were able to formalize the agreements with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and obtain approval within 23 days of signing the legislation. at the federal level. There is no doubt that this help will be a relief for many families who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 emergency and we will work diligently to complete the payments as soon as possible, ”said the president.
On December 28, 2020, just hours after the signing of the federal law that gives rise to this second round of payments of $ 600, known as the COVID Tax Exemption Act of 2020 (CRTRA, for its acronym in English language). ), The Treasury Department submitted a draft distribution plan to the IRS for review. The first payment plan with an economic impact of $ 1,200 took 36 days to approve.
“About 23 days after submitting our project to the IRS, we already have a distribution plan approved by the Federal Treasury and just hours after we received the authorization, we began the process of sending $ 600 payments. As we anticipated, this disbursement process will be much faster, because in 95 percent of cases, the Department already has the banking information needed to make the direct deposit. We have established a work plan that envisages hundreds of thousands of consecutive payments, almost daily, for the next few weeks. “The secretary explained.
This new $ 600 federal aid will reach nearly 2.8 million people, whether as individuals, couples or dependents, for a total of about $ 1.7 billion.
Parés Alicea estimated that most payments, which will be $ 600 per person and $ 600 per skilled dependent, or $ 300 in joint custody cases, will be completed by mid-February. “In three or four weeks, 95 percent of people who qualify for this new aid will have their money deposited or their check pending,” he said.
As established by federal law, these additional payments of $ 600 will be received by persons with valid social security who were resident in Puerto Rico during the tax year and who were not claimed as dependent on the income tax return of the United States. to another person.
Under the new CRTRA law, eligibility guidelines make certain areas more flexible for more citizens to qualify. For example, under this distribution plan, inmates may be eligible to receive payment of $ 600. No withholding will be retained for pending debts with the Administration for the Support of Minors (ASUME). In the case of married couples, at least one of them will need to 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 tomorrow, Wednesday, January 20, exclusively in the distribution of aid, therefore it will not be available for any other transaction, at least 24 hours.
“Aware of the need that people have to receive the payment of 600 USD, we will give priority to depositing this money, temporarily suspending all services offered through SURI. In this way, we also protect the system to avoid further failures and to ensure that we successfully fulfill this extraordinary agenda for the distribution of funds. Starting with Thursday, January 21, 2021, SURI will operate at full capacity “, he explained.
The SURI interruption coincides with the date of filing the monthly sales and use tax (SUT) return, which traders submit on the 20th of each month. However, Parés Alicea has indicated that both the declaration and the corresponding payment for that declaration, as well as any other declaration, notification, appeal for review or any other process or payment of contribution whose expiry date is 20 January 2020, is runs until Monday, January 25, 2020.
Parés Alicea stressed once again that most people who received the $ 1,200 do not have to perform any procedure in SURI if they maintain the same bank account, so it is not necessary for them to enter SURI. On the other hand, he pointed out that there is a link available in SURI only for those people who changed the bank accounts in 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 to those who have received the first payment of $ 1,200 by check and wish to receive an additional $ 600 by direct deposit.
You do not need to register in SURI to change your account number. It is accessed via the Federal Economic Impact Payment link located on the suri.hacienda.pr.gov homepage and then in the Update your account information option. If you need assistance, write through the Suri Support link which is also on the SURI home page.