RALEIGH – North Carolina lawmakers passed a law last month that would give payments to families to help with virtual schooling and childcare costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most families are eligible for the $335 one-time payment, and most North Carolina parents who file a 2019 state income tax return will get the payment automatically.
Families must either apply for the grant program using the paper application available here on the North Carolina Department of Revenue website or file a 2019 state tax return, by Oct. 15.
Families who are not required to file a North Carolina individual income tax return because their income did not exceed the state’s filing requirements (generally $10,000 per year if you are single and $20,000 per year if you are married), may still be eligible. Filers or applicants must have a qualifying child, based on the federal child tax credit for year 2019.
“It is crucial that North Carolina families know what steps, if any, they need to take to receive this direct aid,” said Suzy Khachaturyan, policy analyst at the NC Budget & Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center. “People who are not required to file a state income tax return need to complete the online application by Oct. 15. North Carolinians with low incomes are the most likely to be left out of this program and yet are the most in need of additional funds to help make ends meet and support their child’s schooling and childcare related needs.”