California gas refund payments: When do they start and who is eligible?

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders agreed at the end of June on a $17 million inflation relief package. The tax rebate plan will provide up to $1,050 to millions of California families to help with inflation and rising gas prices.

“California’s budget addresses the state’s most pressing needs, and prioritizes getting dollars back into the pockets of millions of Californians who are grappling with global inflation and rising prices of everything from gas to groceries,” Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in a joint statement at the time.

The three-tier program, called the Middle Class Tax Refund, will benefit around 23 million California taxpayers, with the amount that each taxpayer gets determined by income and whether they have a dependent. The state will hand out “inflation relief payments”, as state leaders call them, to individual taxpayers making under $250,000 and married couples that file jointly earning less than $500,000. The California Franchise Tax Board expects to begin sending out payments in October 2022 through January 2023.

Income limits for the Middle Class Tax Refund

Under the tax rebate plan, Californians earning as much as $75,000 for individuals or $150,000 for joint filers would receive $350 per taxpayer, plus an additional $350 if they have at least one dependent. A single parent would therefore receive $700 and two-parent families would receive $1,050.

The amount would decrease to $250 per taxpayer for households making as much as $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for joint filers, and to $200 per taxpayer for households making as much as $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for joint filers. In both of these tiers, parents would receive an additional $250 or $200, respectively, if they have at least one dependent.

People making more than $250,000 or $500,000 for joint filers will not receive a rebate.

Eligibility for the California Middle Class Tax Refund

Besides meeting the California adjusted gross income limits mentioned above there are other some other requirements to receive the Middle Class Tax Refund.

These include having filed a 2020 California tax return by 15 October 2021. As well, in the 2020 tax year you were not eligible to be claimed as a dependent and were a resident of California for at least six months that year. Finally, you must be a California resident on the date the payment is issued.

Other measures to tackle inflation in California

The Governor had called for payments going directly to motorists with registered vehicles, as well there were calls for the state to put a pause on the state’s gas tax, which went up again on 1 July as legislated. However, Newsom reached an agreement with lawmakers to send a tax refund to those with or without a car.

But a limited pause was announced on the state’s diesel fuel tax, but only for truck drivers. That will be in place for 12 months until the end of the state’s fiscal year, 30 June 2023. This is seen as a way of tackling inflation by reducing operating costs from transporting goods for businesses which end up getting passed onto customers.

There were numerous other measures to help Golden Staters with the cost of living including emergency rental assistance, utility pay support, a temporary extension of childcare and preschool family fee waivers, along with support for food banks and other programs.