Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend: Eligibility, Deadlines and Garnishment

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Every eligible Alaskan, including babies, gets a share of the Permanent Fund's earnings each fall. The 2026 check is $1,200, but missing the March 31 deadline or a long trip outside the state can cost you the whole thing. Here's how eligibility, absences, payments and garnishments work.

AT A GLANCE

2026 amount: $1,200 per person, which includes a $200 energy relief payment.
Apply every year: The filing window is January 1 through March 31. Late applications are denied by law, with only narrow exceptions.
One application per person: A couple with three kids files five applications.
Absences: You can be out of Alaska up to 180 days in the qualifying year for any reason. Longer stays only count if they fall under an allowable absence.
Garnishment: Government agencies and courts can take up to 100% of a dividend. Most other creditors are limited to 80%.
Help: PFD Division, 907-465-2326, weekdays 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

What the PFD is and how much it pays

The Permanent Fund Dividend is a yearly payment to eligible Alaska residents. The Division calculates it by dividing the money available for distribution from the Permanent Fund earnings account by the number of eligible applicants. That's why the amount changes every year.

On September 21, 2026, the state announced the 2026 PFD is $1,200. That figure includes a $200 energy relief payment under House Bill 263. The two are paid as one combined payment, and the energy relief portion is subject to the same deductions as the rest of your dividend.

Here's how the amount has moved in recent years, from the Division's own payment summary:

Dividend year	Amount per person	Applications paid
2026	$1,200 (includes $200 energy relief)	Not yet published
2025	$1,000	618,863
2024	$1,702	624,489
2023	$1,312	624,354
2022	$3,284	625,912
2021	$1,114	636,895

Don't budget on next year's amount until the state announces it.

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Who qualifies

Eligibility is based on the qualifying year, which is the calendar year before you apply. For a 2026 dividend, the qualifying year was 2025. For a dividend you apply for in 2027, it's 2026.

To get the 2026 dividend, the Division says you had to answer yes to all of these:

You were an Alaska resident for all of the qualifying year
On the day you applied, you intended to stay an Alaska resident indefinitely
You didn't claim residency in another state or country, or get a benefit from claiming residency elsewhere, at any point since December 31 of the year before the qualifying year
You weren't sentenced for a felony conviction or jailed for a felony conviction during the qualifying year
You weren't jailed during the qualifying year for an Alaska misdemeanor if you had a prior felony or two or more prior misdemeanors since January 1, 1997
If you were gone more than 180 days, the absence was an allowable one
You were physically in Alaska for at least 72 consecutive hours at some point in the two prior years

Things that quietly break residency

Establishing residency somewhere else ends your eligibility, even after a short move. The Division's examples include registering to vote in another state or filing a resident income tax return there. Its own example is someone who takes a job and buys a home in Washington, then returns after two weeks: still ineligible.

Children and newcomers

A child born or adopted during the qualifying year can qualify, but only with an eligible adult sponsor. If the sponsor isn't eligible, the child isn't either. Each child can have only one sponsor.

Resident noncitizens, refugees and asylees can qualify if they had conditional or permanent status, or refugee or asylee status, before January 1 of the qualifying year.

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Absences: the 180-day rule and its exceptions

Absence days are counted cumulatively across the year, not consecutively. The day you leave counts as a day in Alaska. The day you come back counts as a day away.

The Division's example: someone leaves March 1 and returns May 20 (80 days), then leaves again October 1 and returns October 16 (15 days). That's 95 days. They have to report the absences because the total is over 90, but they're still under 180, so they can stay eligible.

You must report every absence if your total is 90 days or more in a year, or if you're out of state when you apply. That holds even when the absence is allowed. The Division treats a failure to report as fraud and can make you repay dividends.

Allowable absences

You can be gone more than 180 days and still qualify if the absence is for a reason the law allows. Common ones include:

Full-time college, high school or certain vocational schooling
Active military duty, or living with a family member who is on active duty
Medical treatment a licensed physician recommended (not a change of climate)
Caring for a close family member who is critically or terminally ill
Settling a close family member's estate, up to 220 cumulative days
Peace Corps service, merchant marine service, and a few others listed in state law

Extra days on top of an allowable absence

If you're on an allowable absence, the time you can spend away for other reasons is capped:

Your situation	Extra days away allowed for other reasons
Active-duty military (and family), claiming only military service	180
Full-time student (and family), claiming only school	120
Medical, family care and all other allowable absences	45

The 72-hour and five-year rules

Anyone claiming an allowable absence must have been in Alaska for 72 consecutive hours at some point in the two years before the dividend year. Keep proof in your own name: boarding passes, airline mileage records, Alaska Marine Highway tickets, hotel receipts, or card statements showing purchases in Alaska.

If you've been gone more than 180 days in each of the past five qualifying years, the Division presumes you're no longer a resident. You can push back with clear and convincing evidence that you spent at least 30 cumulative days in Alaska during those five years and still meet the residency definition.

Failure to report absences is fraud and could result in assessment of dividends paid. (Alaska PFD Division)

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How to apply

File between January 1 and March 31. The online application opens at 9:00 AM on January 1. Anything filed after March 31 is denied as late.
File one application per person. Adults file their own first. A sponsoring adult can then file and sign each child's application.
Choose how to sign. You can sign electronically with a myAlaska account, or file online and print a paper signature page. Paper applications are also available at distribution centers.
Save your proof of filing. Online, that's the "Congratulations" page with your confirmation number. By mail, use a USPS certified mail or delivery confirmation receipt, or a FedEx, DHL or UPS receipt. In person, ask the office for a receipt.
First time applying? You'll be asked for an original certified birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate. Photocopies and hospital certificates aren't accepted. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope to get your documents back.
Answer requests quickly. You have 30 days from the date of a Division request to send what it asks for. Call if you need more time.

Narrow exceptions to the March 31 deadline exist for people with disabilities, filings for someone who died during the filing period, and military members receiving hostile fire or imminent danger pay. Call the Division if one applies.

Before you file

☐ Your myAlaska login, or a plan to print and sign a paper signature page
☐ Your dates in and out of Alaska last year, if they add up to 90 days or more
☐ Travel proof for any 72-hour return trip, in your own name
☐ Bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit (or "same account as last year")
☐ Each child's Social Security number and your own

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When the money arrives in fall 2026

Applicants who filed online, chose direct deposit and were found eligible by September 18, 2026, were paid on October 1, 2026. Applications found eligible by October 12 were paid on October 22, 2026.

After that, the Division pays in monthly runs:

Status "Eligible-Not Paid" by	Payment date
November 11, 2026	November 19, 2026
December 9, 2026	December 17, 2026

The Division's goal is to finish all eligibility decisions by December 31 of the dividend year. You can check your status any time on myPFD. If you applied on paper, wait 4 to 6 weeks before checking.

Checks and direct deposit problems

Keep your address current. PFD checks are never forwarded by the Post Office.
Lost or stale check: For a lost check or one over 6 months old, contact the Division and it will reissue to the address on file.
Direct deposit rejected: Payments a bank rejects can take 30 days or more to settle.

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Garnishments and deductions

Your dividend can be reduced before you see it. The Division takes deductions in a fixed order, starting with IRS backup withholding, then bankruptcy, child support, court-ordered restitution, IRS taxes owed, student loans, court fines and other claims.

Who is taking it	How much they can take
State or federal agencies, or a court	Up to 100%
Other creditors with civil judgments (writs and levies)	Up to 80%
IRS backup withholding (name or SSN mismatch)	24%
Alaska 529 savings, if you said yes	50% of what's left after involuntary deductions

The Division charges a $2 fee for each garnishment or assignment it receives. Alaska 529 and charitable contributions don't carry the fee.

If your dividend was garnished

You'll get a notice to debtor by mail, and you can see deductions on myPFD. The notice lists who took the money, how much, and their phone number.

Calling the PFD Division won't reverse a garnishment. It can only release one with written permission from the garnishing party, so contact that creditor directly if you think it was wrong.

The 24% backup withholding trap

Each May, the Division sends applicants' names and Social Security numbers to the IRS to check for matches. If yours doesn't match and you don't fix it over the summer, 24% of your dividend goes to the IRS. The Division can't get it back once it's sent. Report the withheld amount on your federal return as tax already paid.

Taxes on the dividend

Adult dividends are taxable on your federal return, and a child's may be too depending on the amount. You must report the full dividend even if part was garnished. Your 1099-MISC is available on myPFD.

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Denied? How the appeal works

Informal appeal: File the Request for Informal Appeal form within 30 days of the denial letter, with the $25 fee or a request to waive it based on the federal poverty guidelines for Alaska. Explain which facts are wrong or how the law was misapplied, and include evidence.
Formal hearing: If the informal appeal is denied, you have 30 days to request a formal hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. There's no fee.
Court: After a final agency decision, you have 30 days to appeal to Alaska Superior Court, and then 30 days from that ruling to go to the Alaska Supreme Court.

If you win, the $25 fee is refunded. Keep filing a new application every year while an appeal is pending.

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When someone has died

An estate representative may be able to file for someone who died, with a court document naming them representative and a copy of the death certificate. For 2026 dividends, estate applications are due March 31, 2027, and are available from the Division. A check that wasn't cashed before the person died can be deposited into the estate account, or cashed by the successor if there's no estate account.

WHAT TO DO NOW

Check myPFD to see whether your 2026 dividend is paid, pending or in review.
If it's "Eligible-Not Paid," note the November 19 and December 17 payment dates.
Update your mailing address now, since checks are never forwarded.
Start a simple log of days spent outside Alaska this year, and save travel receipts in your own name.
Put January 1 and March 31, 2027, on your calendar for next year's application.

More help

Related guides

Missing a W-2 or 1099? What to do before you file

Official sources

Last checked: October 30, 2026. The amount, payment dates, eligibility rules, absence limits, deduction order, appeal steps and phone number come from the Alaska PFD Division's website.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Contact the PFD Division at 907-465-2326 for questions about your own application.