Amount of annual Alaska dividend to be announced

Amount of annual Alaska dividend to be announced

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Buy an iPhone 5 or replace the leaky rain gutters? Splurge or save? The tough choices befall Alaskans every year when they get their dividend checks from the state’s oil savings account simply for being a resident.

State officials plan to announce the amount of this year’s Oct. 4 payout today. They’ve already warned that it could be less than last year’s dividend of $1,174, which was the smallest since 2006.

Sina Takafua in the northernmost town of Barrow plans to spend her first ever Alaska Permanent Fund dividend on bills to get ahead of her debts.

Residents must live in Alaska one calendar year to qualify for a dividend.

There’s no state income tax in Alaska, but residents must pay federal taxes on the bounty.