California inflation relief checks 2022: amounts, eligibility and how for apply to the payments

Californians who filed a 2020 tax return by 15 October 2021 will start receiving direct payments 7 October from the state’s Middle Class Tax Refund. The tax rebate plan will provide up to $1,050 to millions of California families to help with inflation and high gas prices which are on the rise again.

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders agreed at the end of June to spend part of the state’s bumper budget surplus on the $17 million inflation relief package.

“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.

When will Californians receive the inflation relief payment

The California Franchise Tax Board (CFTB) says it expects to send 90 percent of the direct deposit payments for the Middle Class Tax Refund in October 2022. Those who received the first or second Golden State Stimulus (GSS I and II) via direct deposit can expect to see the money in their account between 7 October and 25 October. The remaining direct deposits will be issued between 28 October and 14 November 2022.

Starting 25 October, the CFTB expects to mail debit cards for the tax rebate through 10 December 2022 to those that received the GSS I and II. The remaining debit cards will be mailed by 15 January 2023 but with the expectation that 95 percent of all payments, both direct deposit and debit cards, will be issued before the end of year.

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.