The deadline to apply for a permanent fund dividend is fast approaching, with applications open online or by mail through Monday, March 31.

As of Monday, around 527,000 people had applied, according to data from the State Department of Revenue.

Applications can be filed online through myAlaska, or by visiting pfd.alaska.gov.

Paper applications can be found and filed at distribution centers around the Kenai Peninsula.

Legislative Information Offices in Kenai, Homer and Seward are all locations where applications are available.

In Kenai, applications can be submitted at the City of Kenai building, the Nikiski Senior Center and the Kenai Community Library. In Soldotna, the Soldotna Public Library and the Soldotna Senior Center are both distribution centers. Independent Living Center facilities in Homer and Seward are registered locations, as are the Homer Public Library and the Seward Senior Center.

Payments will begin to be disbursed in October. Those who file online with a direct deposit method will receive the PFD at the beginning of October, the department says, while those who file online with a check payment method or those who file a paper application will see money at the end of October.

To be eligible for the 2025 PFD, an applicant must have been an Alaska resident for the duration of 2024, must not have claims of residency in any other state since Dec. 31, 2023, must not have been sentenced with a felony or incarcerated as the result of a felony conviction, and must not have been absent from Alaska for more than 180 days.

A budget proposal by Gov. Mike Dunleavy describes a nearly $4,000 dividend, while leaving the state facing a $1.5 billion deficit. That total is unlikely to make it through the Legislature, which is working to address the state’s budget deficits amid calls to increase education funding.

As reported by the Alaska Beacon, a budget scenario presented to the Alaska Legislature earlier this month describes the $1,000 per student increase in education funding recently approved by the Alaska House of Representatives and now being considered by the Alaska Senate. With that increase and a dividend of $1,419, the state would face a more than $440 million deficit next year. Another scenario shows that, to eliminate the deficit only by cutting the PFD while maintaining the education funding increase, it could total around $740 per recipient.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.