More than 23 million California residents are expected to receive a Middle Class Tax Refund in their bank accounts or by mail starting this week. On Friday, the first batch of payments will go out.
The plan to send direct payments was passed by state legislators over the summer to help relieve the pain of recent record inflation. But it would be months of anticipation between when the plan was announced and when people would start to see the money.
Now, Californians can see how much money they’ll receive, how they can expect to receive it, as well as a rough idea of when.
The first group to receive money will be those who received a Golden State Stimulus (GSS) payment last year by direct deposit. The Golden State Stimulus program sent money directly to low-income state residents (in GSS I) and then to people earning less than $75,000 (in GSS II). Those recipients will start seeing direct deposits as early as Friday.
The second batch of payments issued will go to Golden State Stimulus recipients who got their 2021 payments by debit card. They will also be sent a debit card by mail this time, starting on Oct. 25.
But more people qualify for the inflation relief checks than the GSS payments. The income limit has been raised all the way to $500,000 for joint filers, plus people who rely exclusively on SSDI are also eligible this time around.
People who didn’t qualify for GSS, but do qualify for this Middle Class Tax Refund are next on the list to get paid. If that’s you, and you got your 2020 tax refund by direct deposit, you can expect to get this latest round of direct payments by mid-November.
Finally, the state will work to get everyone else their tax refund by Jan. 15, 2023.
See the dates on which each batch of payments will be issued below, according to information provided by the Franchise Tax Board.
| Payment date | Payment type | Recipients |
| Oct. 7 – Oct. 25, 2022 | Direct deposit | Received Golden State Stimulus (I or II) by direct deposit |
| Oct. 28 – Nov. 14, 2022 | Direct deposit | Received 2020 state tax refund by direct deposit, but didn’t get GSS |
| Oct. 25 – Dec. 10, 2022 | Debit card | Received Golden State Stimulus by debit card |
| By Jan. 15, 2023 | Debit card | Taxpayers who don’t fall into above categories |
While some payments may not reach eligible taxpayers until next year, the vast majority of Californians should get paid sooner. The Franchise Tax Board said about 90% of payments will be issued in October, and about 95% will be issued by the end of the year.
How much you’ll get is another question. The payments range in size from $200 to $1,050, depending on your taxable income, filing status, and number of dependents.