Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend in model comparisons¶
PolicyEngine automatically calculates ak_permanent_fund_dividend and
ak_energy_relief for each person whose household is in Alaska. These amounts
are calculated benefits, rather than imputed income or fixed default inputs.
Current Alaska residence is an eligibility proxy: the model does not check an
application, prior-year residence, or actual receipt. Supplying wages and other
known income does not disable either calculation.
The regular PFD is included in federal gross income for nondependent people. A dependent child’s PFD is not automatically added to the parent’s adjusted gross income (AGI). Tax-unit membership alone does not determine dependent status; supply explicit roles or dependent status when constructing a household. The regular dividend appears on 2022 Schedule 1, line 8g.
Override calculated payments¶
Supply either variable as an input on the person to replace its calculated
amount. To exclude both transfers from a controlled comparison, set both to zero
for every person. Overriding only ak_permanent_fund_dividend leaves energy
relief in place. Overriding only tax-unit AGI leaves the underlying person income
and benefit amounts unchanged.
This complete situation retains Alaska residence while excluding both payments:
people:
person:
age: {2022: 40}
employment_income: {2022: 50000}
ak_permanent_fund_dividend: {2022: 0}
ak_energy_relief: {2022: 0}
tax_units:
tax_unit:
members: [person]
households:
household:
members: [person]
state_code: {2022: AK}
With only the two payment inputs removed, this person’s calculated 2022 regular PFD is $2,622, energy relief is $662, and federal AGI is $52,622. With both inputs set to zero as above, federal AGI is $50,000.
Amounts by year¶
PolicyEngine sets gov.states.ak.dor.permanent_fund_dividend and
gov.states.ak.dor.energy_relief to what Alaska paid each eligible person in
each year from 2015, the first year it models:
Year |
Dividend |
Energy relief |
Source |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 |
$2,072 |
$0 |
|
2016 |
$1,022 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2019 annual report |
2017 |
$1,100 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2019 and 2021 annual reports |
2018 |
$1,600 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2019 and 2021 annual reports |
2019 |
$1,606 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2019 and 2021 annual reports |
2020 |
$992 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2021 annual report |
2021 |
$1,114 |
$0 |
Summary table; 2021 annual report |
2022 |
$2,622 |
$662 |
Alaska DOR release 23-002 (Alaska paid $2,621.81 and $662.19) |
2023 |
$1,312 |
$0 |
|
2024 |
$1,403.83 |
$298.17 |
|
2025 |
$1,000 |
$0 |
|
2026 |
$1,000 |
$200 |
Sec. 18(d) and sec. 13, ch. 34, SLA 2026; Alaska DOR release 26-004 |
Alaska sets each year’s dividend in its budget and adds energy relief only in years when it appropriates a one-time payment. It has set no dividend and appropriated no energy relief for 2027 or later. From 2027, PolicyEngine carries the 2026 dividend of $1,000 forward and sets energy relief to zero. To model amounts that Alaska sets later, supply either variable as an input.
The 2022 regular dividend and energy relief split¶
Alaska paid $3,284 in total: $2,621.81 of regular PFD and $662.19 of supplemental
energy relief. PolicyEngine rounds these 2022 components to $2,622 and $662,
respectively. Putting the full $3,284 in ak_permanent_fund_dividend would mix
the components and increase the modeled taxable amount. The split is described
in Alaska DOR’s February 17, 2023
release.
The model excludes the separate energy payment from federal gross income. For 2022, this follows IRS IR-2023-23, including its Alaska footnote: the IRS said it would not challenge exclusion of the supplemental energy payment, while the regular PFD remained taxable. This was a 2022 administrative nonchallenge policy, rather than a statutory determination for every recipient. An exclusion under IRC 139 depends on a qualifying disaster and the connection between the payment and that disaster; see Notice 2023-56, section 3.04. This model convention does not establish those facts or extend the 2022 IRS policy to other years.