For Californians waiting on a stimulus check from either the federal government or the state — or both — there’s still some time left to receive payments.
The IRS will be sending out the third round of economic impact payments through the end of the year, according to the agency.
Tens of millions of eligible Americans have received checks up to $1,400 as part of the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law this past March. Payments began going out that same month, but the IRS has been distributing them on a rolling basis depending on when a person’s federal tax return was processed, according to the agency.
However, the legislation only gives the agency until the end of 2021 to distribute the checks — hence why next Friday, Dec. 31, marks the deadline.
Those who are missing the third economic impact payment or didn’t receive the entire amount they were owed may still be able to get the money by claiming the recovery rebate credit on their 2021 taxes, according to the IRS. (Find out how to claim it here. You can also check the status of your stimulus payment here.)
California is also sending out its own batch of payments to residents who qualify for the state’s expanded stimulus program, known as Golden State Stimulus II. Approximately 9 million Californians — nearly a quarter of the state’s population — are expected to receive checks of up to $1,100.
The first round of GSS II payments were disbursed in late August, but the Franchise Tax Board’s website indicates checks will continue to be mailed out through Jan. 11, 2022.
According to the schedule, the tax board is currently sending paper checks to eligible people who live in ZIP codes with the last three digits between 720-927. The state will start issuing the money to recipients whose ZIP codes contain the last three numbers of 928-999 on Dec. 27.
Once mailed, it can still take up to three weeks for a recipient to get the payment.
Some Californians may get one even after January because they applied for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number by Oct. 15 but didn’t get one before the tax deadline.
This group of people will have until Feb. 15, 2022, to file their tax returns and still be considered for a Golden State Stimulus I and/or II payment.
