Oregon to begin sending $600 stimulus payments to low-income workers this week

More than 200,000 Oregon workers will receive $600 checks from the state as soon as this week.

Oregon lawmakers in March approved the one-time stimulus payments for certain low-income workers. The payments will go to Oregonians who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2020, a tax break for low-income working households, and lived within the state in the last six months of that year.

The Oregon Department of Revenue said Wednesday that it would distribute nearly $141.8 million to 236,000 qualifying households. Payments are limited to one per household.

About $82 million will be deposited directly into the bank accounts of qualifying individuals, while the remaining nearly $60 million will be sent via mail. The state said qualifying individuals will receive the money no later than July 1.

The state is paying for the stimulus payments with federal pandemic aid approved by Congress last year.

Rich Hoover, a spokesperson for The Oregon Department of Revenue, said the payments are not subject to state or federal income tax.

House Bill 4157 passed by wide margins in both chambers of the Oregon Legislature this spring, with a handful of Republicans joining majority Democrats in supporting the bill. The stimulus payments are being The payments evolved from a 2021 plan for larger stimulus payments — up to $2,000 — to essential workers who stayed on the job during the pandemic and those who rejoined the workforce last fall.