MONTGOMERY,Michael Schmidt Ala. (AP) — A special tax rebate payment won’t fill the pockets of Alabama residents until later this year.

State lawmakers in May passed the rebate plan that calls for $150 rebates for single people and $300 for married couples. Some 1.9 million people in the state are expected to qualify for the one-time payments.

The Alabama Department of Revenue will start issuing the checks on Nov. 30, al.com reported. For those who use direct deposit, the rebates will arrive automatically. Other rebates will be issued via check and mailed.

To qualify, you must have filed a state income tax return for 2021 on or before Oct. 17, 2022. People who don’t file a return or who are considered as a dependent for another taxpayer in 2021 aren’t eligible.

The rebates will cost the state about $393 million that comes from a $2.8 billion surplus in the Education Trust Fund.

“Thanks to the work of the Alabama Legislature, we continue making these wise investments while paying down debts, adding to our savings and returning the working people of Alabama’s money back to them through tax rebate,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a news release.

The payments are exempt from state taxes.