COVID

Are you eligible for an upcoming $500 relief check?

330,000 additional checks will be sent to workers in June.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed a law allocating $460 million for COVID relief payments in December. Elise Amendola/AP Photo

By Ross Cristantiello

May 19, 2022

Another round of $500 checks will soon be distributed to workers throughout the state. In total, approximately 330,000 additional checks will be sent to low-income, essential workers in June.

Last December, Gov. Baker signed into law the COVID-19 Essential Employee Premium Pay program. This allocated $460 million for payments to Massachusetts workers.

The first round of payments was announced in February and distributed in March. Nearly 500,000 people received checks at that time.

To be eligible, recipients must have filed a 2021 tax return, been a Massachusetts resident in 2021, earned income of at least $13,500 in 2021 employment compensation, and had a total household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level in 2021.

That level is $38,640 for a household of one, and $79,500 for a family of four. This will be based on 2021 tax returns.

A full table calculating 300% of the federal poverty level for a variety of household sizes can be found on the state website.

Residents are not eligible if they received a $500 payment in the first round or if they received unemployment benefits in 2021. State executive branch employees that received a one-time COVID-related payment are also not eligible.