California issues $5 billion in inflation relief money so far. These groups are still waiting

In a little over a month, California has rolled out more than $5 billion in inflation relief money to eligible taxpayers expecting either direct deposits or debit cards of up to $1,050.

The Franchise Tax Board has distributed, according to its website, more than 6.7 million direct deposits and more than 2.5 million debit cards across the state since Oct. 7. The website will be revised weekly with new totals, said tax board spokesman Andrew LePage in an email to The Bee. A total of 18 million payments – direct deposits and debit cards combined – will be issued by January.

Majority of the direct deposits have been issued, he said, and the last few qualifying taxpayers can expect to see payments hit their accounts by Nov. 22.

If you think you should have gotten a direct deposit sooner, first check if you, one, e-filed your 2020 tax return and, two, received your refund by direct deposit.

Then, consult your 2020 California Tax Return to re-verify eligibility before contacting the Middle Class Tax Refund customer support line at 800-542-9332.

New information for debit card recipients

Excluding holidays and weekends, the tax board typically mails out anywhere from from 150,000 to 200,000 debit cards per day to eligible recipients, Lepage said.

Debit cards began rolling out on Oct. 24 and will conclude Jan. 14.

DEBIT CARD ELIGIBILITY

You should expect a debit card, according to the tax board website, if one of the following are true for you:

• Filed a paper return
• Had a balance due
• Received your Golden State Stimulus payment by check
• Received your tax refund by check regardless of filing method
• Received your 2020 tax refund by direct deposit, but have since changed your banking institution or bank account number
• Received an advance payment from your tax service provider, or paid your tax preparer fees using your tax refund

Debit card mailing schedule

Debit card recipients should allow up to two weeks from the issue date to receive their payment in the mail.

Debit cards should have been mailed out by Nov. 5 to previous Golden State Stimulus recipients whose last name starts with A-E. Here’s the mailing time frame, according to the tax board’s website, for the other previous Golden State Stimulus check recipients with last names F-Z:

• Last names F-M - will be mailed between Nov. 6 and Nov. 19
• Last names N-V - will be mailed between Nov. 20 and Dec. 3
• Last names W-Z - will be mailed between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10

NON-GOLDEN STATE STIMULUS RECIPIENTS

• Last names A-K - will be mailed between Dec. 5 and Dec. 17

The mailing schedule for non-Golden State Stimulus recipients with last names L-Z will be announced after Monday, Nov. 21.

Eligible Californian taxpayers who changed their banking information since filing their 2020 tax returns should expect a debit card to be mailed out between Dec. 17 and Jan. 14.

This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 10:26 AM.