A new round of stimulus payments has been confirmed and more than 600,000 Americans are eligible, with payments that were proposed in amounts as high as $3,892, in a single check that you do not have to repay to the state and that you can freely use on whatever you want.
The program has distributed tens of millions of dollars per year since it has existed, more than four decades, and is financed by the profits of the oil industry in Alaska: the program is called Permanent Fund Dividend, which last year paid $1,702 and now, by 2025, a proposal wants to send checks of $3,892.
PFD stimulus payments: $3,892 proposed for 2025
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy included a PFD of $3,892 in his fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) budget proposal, submitted in December 2024. This amount follows the 1982 statutory formula, which has not been applied since 2016. In FY2025, the legislature approved a PFD of $1,702, reducing the governor’s initial proposal of $3,400.
The state budget for FY2026 is $14.2 billion, with a projected deficit of $1.5 billion. To cover it, funds from the Constitutional Budget Reserve (CBR) would be used. Lawmakers have historically prioritized spending on education and infrastructure over full PFD payments, leading to ongoing political tensions.
To qualify for the 2025 PFD, residents must have lived in Alaska for all of 2024. Absences for work, military service, or medical treatment are permitted. Arround 600,000 eligible people are estimated, according to historical data. Errors in previous reports mentioned residence since 2004, but the regulations require only the year before payment.
The applicant must demonstrate that they had permanent residence with documents such as rental contracts, work contracts, or medical records, since those who fail to comply with this benefit, even if they received previous payments, are automatically disqualified. In 2024, the PFD program included an extra energy relief amount of $298.17, totaling $1,702.
Are there enough funds to pay $3,892 stimulus checks?
Since 1984, Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) amounts have fluctuated between $331.29—the historic low—and $3,284 in 2022. The legislature stopped applying the statutory formula in 2016, opting to adjust the amounts based on other priorities. In 2024, only $1,403.83 corresponded to the base dividend; the rest of the payment was allocated as energy relief.
A high PFD could increase retail sales, such as in 2022, when a payment of $3,284 generated a 15% increase in this sector, according to ACS Comp. Stimulating local economies is key in remote regions, where the dividend represents up to 10% of annual income in low-income households.
When to expect the arrival of the PFD payments
Governor Dunleavy’s proposal has generated skepticism in the legislature. In fiscal year 2025, its original proposal of $3,400 was reduced by 49.5%. For this year, the suggested amount of $3,892 would require cuts to other programs or tax increases, something politically sensitive in a state that levies no income or sales taxes.
The 2025 amount is not yet confirmed, and depends on approval by the Alaska House of Representatives, but legislative counterproposals range between $1,000 and $1,400, so it seems unlikely that $3,892 will be given to each of the 600,000 eligible Alaskans.
Direct deposits are typically issued during the first week of October, and paper checks are typically sent shortly after, depending on the annual schedule published by the Alaska Department of Revenue.
