North Carolina is sending parents $335, but some need to check their paperwork

Most payments are automatic, but low-income families and people who used professional tax preparers may need to file first.

Posted 5:15 p.m. Oct 9, 2020 — Updated 6:27 p.m. Oct 28, 2020

Travis Fain

, WRAL statehouse reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — The state plans to send more than 1 million parents $335, but some people need to fill out paperwork before the money goes out, and the deadline is approaching.

Most people who had at least one child 16 or younger last year will get the payment automatically by Dec. 15, according to the state Department of Revenue.

But parents who didn't file a state tax return in 2019 because their gross income didn't require them to need to fill out some paperwork by Oct. 15.

Typically, these folks made $10,000 or less if they're single and $20,000 or less as a married couple.

There was also an issue in about 70,000 people's 2019 tax filings, and those people should check to make sure they'll get the payment, the Department of Revenue said.

UPDATE: The state Department of Revenue said on Oct. 28 that people who had filed their 2019 taxes by Oct. 1, 2020, would receive checks sent out between Oct. 19 and Nov. 13. A second batch of checks will go out between mid-November and mid-December to eligible families that submitted an application online or through the mail by Oct. 15 and people who filed their 2019 taxes or an amended return between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, 2020.

The stimulus payments, approved in September by the General Assembly, are tied to the federal child tax credit. Whether a taxpayer qualifies for that or not is handled on line 10a of the state's individual income tax form.

But an issue with some tax software, largely used by professional tax preparers, left a zero on that line, indicating the taxpayer doesn't have any children who qualify for the federal tax credit.

"The department advises all taxpayers with a qualifying child who was 16 or younger at the end of 2019 to review line 10a of Form D-400 of their 2019 tax return as filed to determine if they will receive the grant automatically, particularly if they used a paid preparer," the department said in a news release Friday.

Some people may need to file an amended form.

The department said it issued a notice on this to software providers and that it has been in contact with certified public accountants.

The Department of Revenue hasn't yet finalized how the payments will be made, but the money will most likely go out by check, a spokesman said Friday.

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