Your California tax refund could hit your bank account in 2 weeks. Here’s the payment schedule

After months of living in an inflation-ridden economy, relief for some Californians is just around the corner.

Residents who filed their 2020 taxes may receive a one-time payment of up to $1,050 as soon as Oct. 7. Payments will extend through early next year.

Direct deposits will be issued first, starting Oct. 7 through Oct. 25, according to the Franchise Tax Board. The second round of direct deposits should hit accounts between Oct. 28 and Nov. 14.

Debit cards will be mailed between Oct. 25 through Jan. 15. The Franchise Tax Board will release a detailed debit card payment schedule early next month.

“About 90% of the (Middle Class Tax Refund) direct deposits,” said Franchise Tax Board Spokesman Andrew LePage in an email to The Bee “will be issued in October.”

LePage said nearly 95% of all stimulus checks — “direct deposit and debits cards combined” — should be issued by the end of the year.

Follow the money trail

The $9.5 billion tax refund program, which lawmakers solidified in June and was later nicknamed “Middle Class Refund,” is the state’s response to high fuel prices and the rising cost for other goods and services.

The rebates are made possible by California’s $97.5 billion budget surplus, which swelled with income taxes from high earners during the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the second consecutive year Californians will pocket extra money from the state. Last year, residents earning less than $75,000 received up to $1,100.

Gov. Gavin Newsom originally introduced a plan that would have sent money to people who own cars. The money could have gone out as early as July, one month after California’s gas prices hit a record high of more than $6 per gallon.

But legislative leaders wanted a different approach sending money to households based on income. Newsom adopted the lawmakers’ proposal.

Now, as California gears up to release payments to its qualifying residents, gas fuel prices have shifted.

California motorists are currently paying an average of $5.52 per gallon of regular gasoline, according to the American Automobile Association, nearly 20 cents less than just one month ago and about $1 less than in June.

Am I eligible for California inflation relief?

Eligible Californians who electronically filed their 2020 tax return and received their refund in a direct deposit, according to the tax board’s website, should also receive the one-time payment in a direct deposit.

Everyone else will get a debit card.

To qualify for the money, you must:

1. Have been a California resident for at least six months of the 2020 tax year and be a resident when the payment is issued

2. Meet one of the several California adjusted gross income tiers

3. Have filed your 2020 tax return by Oct. 15, 2021

4. Have not been eligible to be claimed as a dependent in the 2020 tax year

The program excludes Californians who don’t pay taxes, which means some low-income households won’t receive money.

How much money will I get?

The money, which is estimated to hit by October through January 2023, will range depending on how you file, plus your annual income.

Meaning, the more you make, the less you should expect from California’s inflation package.

In Sacramento, for example, the median household income is roughly $65,800, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That income falls in the first category: single filers who make less than $75,000 a year will receive $350 and joint filers making less than $150,000 will receive $700.

Filers who fall in the first category will receive an additional $350 if they have at least one dependent.

Here’s how much money you could pocket from California’s new inflation refund, according to the tax board’s website, last updated Aug. 30:

JOINT RETURNS

1. Income of $150,000 or less: $1,050 with dependent or $700 without.
2. Income of $150,001 to $250,000: $750 with dependent or $500 without.
3. Income of $250,001 to $500,000: $600 with dependent or $400 without.

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD

1. Income of $150,000 or less: $700 with dependent or $350 without.
2. Income of $150,001 to $250,000: $500 with dependent or $250 without.
3. Income of $250,001 to $500,000: $400 with dependent or $200 without.

SINGLE FILERS

1. Income of $75,000 or less: $700 with dependent or $350 without.
2. Income of $75,001 to $125,000: $500 with dependent or $250 without.
3. Income of $125,001 to $250,000: $400 with dependent or $200 without.

The Franchise Tax Board has a “Middle Class Tax Refund” calculator California residents can use to estimate their upcoming payment and whether or not they qualify.

This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Your California tax refund could hit your bank account in 2 weeks. Here’s the payment schedule."