Permanent Fund dividend application period closes March 31

Alaskans have until 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 31, to file for this year’s Permanent Fund dividend, whether they file online or mail a paper application to the PFD office.

But if they mail the application, it absolutely positively must be postmarked by March 31. Anything dropped in the mail after that date will be rejected.

Last year’s dividend was $1,702, though this year’s amount — which will be set by legislators during the budget-writing process this spring — likely will be at least several hundred dollars less. The state is facing a combined budget deficit of more than $600 million this year and next year, mainly due to lower oil revenues.

The dividend is paid from the same general fund revenues as all other public services. Investment earnings from Alaska’s 48-year-old oil-wealth savings account, the Permanent Fund, provide the single largest source of money for the state general fund.

As of Monday, March 24, close to 540,000 Alaskans had applied online for their PFD, the application method of choice for about 90% of people, according to the counter on the Permanent Fund Division website.

Last year, the state paid PFDs to 624,489 Alaskans, down from the record year of 644,959 in 2011 as the population has been flat or slightly down in recent years as more people leave the state than new residents move north.

Dividend applications from Wrangell residents also are in decline. The community has seen a steady population falloff since the timber industry started shutting down in the 1990s.

From 1,946 dividends paid in 2022, Wrangell residents received 1,868 PFDs in 2024, a drop of 78 payments, according to data from the Alaska Department of Revenue. Almost half of that decline was due to fewer applications for children 17 years old and younger.

To apply for this year’s dividend, which will be paid out in early October, online filers can go to pfd.alaska.gov. Paper application forms and assistance are available at the Legislative Information Office on the second floor of the Kadin Building, 215 Front St.