While millions of Californians have started receiving their Middle Class Tax Refund by direct deposit, many more are still waiting for the check to arrive.
The “inflation relief” payments, as lawmakers have called them, range in size from $200 to $1,050. The roughly 23 million taxpayers who qualify will get the payment by direct deposit or by debit card, depending on how they filed taxes in 2020.
On Monday, the state’s Franchise Tax Board released more information on when recipients can expect to get paid – but it’s complicated.
When you get paid depends on how you get paid. The first batch of payments, which have already started to be issued, are for people who received a Golden State Stimulus payment last year (either GSS I, GSS II, or both) via direct deposit. Those payments started on Oct. 7 and go through Oct. 25.
The next group of people to get paid are those who received a Golden State Stimulus payment by debit card. This payment will also be sent by debit card in alphabetical order by last name.
If you were a GSS I or GSS II check recipient, see the chart below for more details on when your debit card with the Middle Class Tax Refund will be mailed, according to the Franchise Tax Board:
| Recipients | Debit card mailing timeframe |
|---|---|
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with A – E) | 10/24/2022 through 11/05/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with F – M) | 11/06/2022 through 11/19/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with N – V) | 11/20/2022 through 12/03/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with W – Z) | 12/04/2022 through 12/10/2022 |
California is sending out the debit cards in partnership with Money Network. They’ll look like the photo below, the Franchise Tax Board says, and you’ll need to activate the card online once you get one in the mail.
Around the same time the first batch of debit cards go out, the state will begin issuing direct deposits to non-GSS recipients who filed taxes electronically in 2020 and received their tax refunds by direct deposit.
The remaining eligible recipients will be paid between December 2022 and January 2023. The Franchise Tax Board is expected to announce more precise dates next month.
To summarize, here’s what we know about the timing of the MCTR (inflation relief payments) so far:
Direct deposit payments:
| Recipients | Payment issue date |
|---|---|
| GSS I or II direct deposit recipients | 10/07/22 through 10/25/22 |
| Non-GSS recipients who meet direct deposit requirements | 10/28/22 through 11/14/2022 |
Debit card payments:
| Recipients | Debit card mailing timeframe |
|---|---|
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with A – E) | 10/24/2022 through 11/05/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with F – M) | 11/06/2022 through 11/19/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with N – V) | 11/20/2022 through 12/03/2022 |
| GSS I or II check recipients (last name beginning with W – Z) | 12/04/2022 through 12/10/2022 |
| Non-GSS recipients (last name beginning with A – L) | Will be announced after 11/07/2022 |
| Non-GSS recipients (last name beginning with M – Z) | Will be announced after 11/21/2022 |
| Direct deposit recipients who have changed banking information since filing their 2020 tax return | 12/17/2022 through 01/14/2023 |
The Franchise Tax Board expects to have issued about 8 million direct deposits and 10 million debit cards by early next year.