After waiting for weeks, financial relief is finally coming to island residents with Guam’s Department of Revenue and Taxation saying they processed 20,000 one-time stimulus checks this past weekend.
DRT Director Dafne Shimizu told NewsTalk K57 Monday morning that the checks were already being transmitted to the Treasurer of Guam (TOG) Monday afternoon for mailing.
In a release Monday afternoon, Adelup said the 20,000 EIP checks total around $38.9 million.
Garnishments for child support were made in line with what is required by the CARES Act.
Officials say DRT will continue to process large batches of payments for the EIP program over the next few days.
Payments will be based on validly filed and processed 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Returns. If an individual has not filed a 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Return or has filed but Guam DRT has not processed the individual’s 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Return at the time of certification of EIP to be paid (but the individual has a validly filed and processed 2018 Guam Individual Income Tax Return), then Guam DRT shall determine payment based on the validly filed and processed 2018 Guam Individual Income Tax Return.
“Approximately 20,000 EIP Program payments were processed on Mother’s Day,” said Shimizu.
“We had people here yesterday (Sunday), not just people from our Rev and Tax team, but also people from our Office of Technology. We also had our IT vendor standing by to make sure things went well.”
The Economic Impact Payments (EIP) will see eligible individual filers receiving $1200, joint-filers will get $2400, and an additional $500 for each dependent child.
The IRS and US Treasury approved Guam’s implementation plan early last week and sent the island nearly $108 million to begin doling out the one-time EIP payments.
Payments from another financial aid program are also expected in Guam mailboxes this week.
The Governor’s $300 cash assistance program for low-income residents was announced last Tuesday.
On Friday, Adelup said a total of 500 checks were cut and mailed, totaling $365,000. Around $20 million has been allocated from the Island’s CARES Act funding for this assistance program.
Officials expect around 55,000 island residents to qualify for the $300 payments (for a maximum of $1200 per household).
Adelup says checks will be cut daily until everyone receives their Prugråman Salåppe’ Ayudon I Taotao payment.
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Read the full release from the Governor’s Office:
Barrigada, GU – The Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation (DRT) announced today that after being activated in late March to process Economic Impact Payments (EIP) for Guam residents, the agency was able to process approximately 20,000 EIP over the weekend.
Total payments processed represent approximately $38.9 million. Checks will be transmitted to the Treasurer of Guam (TOG) this afternoon for mailing. Garnishments for child support were made in line with what is required by the CARES Act.
DRT is expected to continue to process large batches of payments for the EIP Program over the next few days.
Payments will be based on validly filed and processed 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Returns, and if an individual has not filed a 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Return or if filed and Guam DRT has not processed the individual’s 2019 Guam Individual Income Tax Return at the time of certification of EIP to be paid, but has a validly filed and processed 2018 Guam Individual Income Tax Return, then Guam DRT shall determine based on validly filed and processed 2018 Guam Individual Income Tax Return.
“This is great news for our people,” said Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero on Monday, “Josh and I are so pleased to finally be able to get these payments out,” she added.
“We were able to visit DRT last week to thank the employees who were activated to process these payments. We are extremely grateful to President Trump, U.S. Secretary Mnuchin, IRS Commissioner Rettig, and the IRS and U.S. Treasury teams for their support,” said Governor Leon Guerrero.
“Approximately 20,000 EIP Program payments were processed on Mother’s Day,” said Mansapit-Shimizu. “Our team is committed to getting these monies out to our people. I thank our Governor and Lt. Governor for their continued support. I also thank our mothers who came in yesterday to ensure that we were able to get checks out this week,” she added.
Residents of Guam should not use the non-filer portal on the IRS website. All Guam residents are required to file with the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation.
You can find DRT’s FAQ on the Guam EIP Program in the COVID-19 section of the DRT website at https://www.guamtax.com/.
DRT’s call center numbers are 635-1840/41/42/57 and 635-7603/04/06.
Due to high call volumes, however, DRT recommends e-mailing any questions regarding the Guam EIP Program to guameip@revtax.guam.gov.
