Some NC parents still have time to apply for $335 payment

Many of these "Extra Credit" grants have already gone out, and most parents didn't have to apply to get them because they're based off annual state income tax filings. But people who don't have enough annual income to have to file state income taxes were supposed to apply by an Oct. 15 deadline.

Generally, that threshold is $10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a married couple.

Many didn't know about the program, according to the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, which filed a lawsuit to extend that deadline. The group struck a deal with the state Department of Revenue and will now work to get the word out.

The deadline was extended to Dec. 7, and this new round of applications will go through the center, not the Department of Revenue.

Those who filed a state tax return last year don't need to apply. Their checks – and it's all by check, not direct deposit – should come in the mail by Nov. 23, according to the Department of Revenue. Parents in that category who don't get a check by then should call the department.

The money comes from federal coronavirus stimulus funding, and it was earmarked by the General Assembly earlier this year. The idea was to help parents buy things their children needed for virtual schooling.

The payment is not per child. It's $335 for any family with at least one child who was 16 or younger as of 2019.

A total of $440 million was set aside for the program. Roughly $650,000 million will be set aside under the lawsuit agreement for the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and its partners to advertise the grants and sign people up.

“The website should be final, functional and live next week," center spokeswoman Dee Grano said Thursday. “We’ve just been deluged with calls, and it’s going to take a while to call everybody back."