March 28. Stimulus Checks, Unemployment and the Coronavirus Plan The New York Times breaks it down for us with FAQs.
March 27. The House of Representatives also passed the stimulus package. Bill will now go to Trump for signature to sign it into law. (How a bill becomes a Law)
March 26. Select Coastal State Parks Closed Due to Overcrowding
March 26. Maine adjusted its tax filing due date to conform with the new federal due date of July 15, 2020.
March 25. $2 Trillion stimulus package is approved by the Senate. The House of Representatives must also approve this bill in order for it to take legal effect.
March 23. Student Debt Emergency Relief Act enacted. Two MONTH reprieve on paying student debt during this national emergency. [Update March 27. This deadline was extended to September 30, 2020 by the Stimulus Package.]
March 23. Roosevelt Institute outlines the 5 major objectives of the federal stimulus package, describes what is needed, and explains the shortcomings of the proposal put forward by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY). (read)
March 20. Listen to Dr Nirav Shah, director of Maine’s CDC on NPR’s Maine Calling discussing the status of Coronavirus in Maine.
March 17. Maine’s COVID-19 response
COVID-19 News
Listed here are the topics discussed below.
Taxes Due July 15, 2020
FEDERAL
Filing due date July 15, 2020
No Interest on tax owed
No Penalties on tax owed
Due to the COVID-19 emergency, the US Treasury & IRS are providing relief from tax deadlines.
March 20, 2020. Tax relief is outlined in NOTICE 2020-18. (This information is to be included in IRB 2020-15, dated Apr 6, 2020)
All federal tax filers whose due date would typically be April 15, 2020 will now have their tax returns and payments due on July 15, 2020.
Any interest or penalties that would ordinarily be assessed due to late filing will be waived until July 15, 2020. Interest and/or penalties will not accrue during this waiver period.
Deadline for contributions to HSAs & IRAs for tax year 2019 is also July 15, 2020.
MAINE
Filing due date July 15, 2020
July 15, 2020 is filing deadline for 2019 Maine Income Tax
March 26. Maine adjusted its tax filing due date to conform with the new federal due date of July 15, 2020.
On March 26, 2020, the state of Maine announced it will also extend its filing and payment date to July 15, 2020. (read notice)
This Maine extension includes any final and estimated Maine income and franchise tax payments that would ORDINARILY be due on April 15, 2020.
Any related failure-to-pay penalties and interest will be abated for the period of April 16, 2020, through July 15, 2020.
Stimulus Package Breakdown
Under Construction!
Components of Stimulus package will be presented here.
General Information
Scams, robocalls and promises of at home testing. Don’t believe it.
The Federal Trade Commission offers guidance on what scammers are up to and what you should do if you find you are a victim.
Many grocery stores are setting up dedicated shopping hours for seniors and folks with compromised immune systems.
Hannaford Beginning Mar 24th - customers over 60 or anyone with a compromised immune systems. Stores will open early from 6-7 AM on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Market Basket Open ONLY to serve customers 60 and older. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 to 7 AM.
Shaws Specifically for senior citizens and other at-risk folks. Tuesday and Thursday from 7-9 AM.
Target All stores reserve the first hour of shopping each Wednesday for seniors.
Walmart March 24 through April 28, to provide an hour-long senior shopping time every Tuesday for customers aged 60 and older. This will start one hour before the store opens. Check your local store to determine your window for this senior dedicated shopping.
Whole Foods will open for seniors one hour prior to regular store hours.
Get your information from reliable sources.
Many major newspapers have removed their paywalls so that anyone can read their articles reporting on the Coronavirus outbreak without cost.
Housing & Utilities
Homeowners
March 20. Federal moratorium on foreclosures and evictions until mid-May on federally backed mortgages. Other banks and mortgage services that are holding non-federally backed loans say they will comply but don’t specify they will adhere to the mid-May timeline. (read the article here)
Renters
March 18. HUD is asking public housing authorities not to evict tenants and is working with Congress to be given the authority to demand compliance by local housing authorities. (read article)
Public Utilities Commission
March 16. Maine Public Utilities Commission instructed all utility companies that they MUST NOT
disconnect service or
issue disconnection notices
for any of their customers.
To view the Emergency MORATORIUM ON UTILITY DISCONNECTION ACTIVITIES (click)
Conserve the resources you have.
Try to work with your landlord. Tell them you are unable to pay or can only pay a portion of the rent. (Period. Full stop. No shame.)
Apply for Unemployment benefits. You have earned them!
If you are unsure that you have enough money to buy food AND pay your heat and electric bills, save your money for necessities - like food and medicines!
Unemployment
Maine Unemployment Benefits
You earned them.
Get them.
If not now, when?
Sign up for ACA
Health Insurance @
Healthcare.gov
March 20. Maine Dept. of Labor published Unemployment Insurance FAQs Regarding COVID-19 to help navigate through the process.
March 17. Maine Legislature passed emergency measures
Expanded unemployment benefits to cover workers harmed by coronavirus response measures (pared down business operations, closings, etc.)
You are eligible to collect unemployment benefits if
Employer temporarily closes due to COVID-19, or
Temporarily laid off due to COVID-19, or
Quarantined but expect you will return to work once the quarantine is over, or
Left your employment due to risk of exposure, infection or to care for a family member
To apply, visit reemployme.maine.gov.
Newscentermaine.com has a great video that guides you through the process of filing for benefits. I mean, who doesn’t love Pat Callaghan with his calm and reassuring manner?
If you have lost your job and no longer have health insurance, you can enroll for Health Insurance even though it is outside the open enrollment period DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE LOST YOUR JOB.
Go to Healthcare.gov to get started.
Under construction!
Small Business - Relief & Resources
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