More than 23 million California residents are expected to receive a middle-class tax refund in their bank accounts or in the mail starting this week. On Friday, the first batch of payments will be made.
The plan to send direct payments was passed by state lawmakers over the summer to help ease the pain of recent record inflation. But it would take months of anticipation from when the plan was announced to when people would start to see the money.
Now Californians can see how much money they will receive, how they can expect to receive it, and a rough idea of when.
The first group to receive money will be those who received a Golden State Stimulus (GSS) payment last year via 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). These recipients will start seeing direct deposits as early as Friday.
The second batch of payments issued will go to Golden State Stimulus recipients who received their 2021 payments by debit card. They will also receive a debit card in the mail this time, starting October 25.
But more people qualify for inflation reduction checks than for ESG payments. The income limit has been raised to $500,000 for co-filers, and people who rely exclusively on SSDI are also eligible this time around.
People who weren’t eligible for the GSS, but are eligible for this middle-class tax refund are next in line to be paid. If this is you and you got your 2020 tax refund via direct deposit, you can expect to receive this final round of direct payments by mid-November.
Finally, the State will strive to obtain for all others its tax refund by January 15, 2023.
See the dates each payout batch will be issued below, according to information provided by the Franchise Tax Board.
| Payment date | Type of payment | Recipients |
| October 7 – October 25, 2022 | Direct deposit | Received Golden State Stimulus (I or II) by direct deposit |
| October 28 – November 14, 2022 | Direct deposit | Received a 2020 state tax refund by direct deposit, but did not receive GSS |
| October 25 – December 10, 2022 | Debit card | Golden State Stimulus receipt by debit card |
| Before January 15, 2023 | Debit card | Taxpayers who do not belong to the above categories |
Although some payments may not reach eligible taxpayers until next year, the vast majority of Californians are expected to be 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 will get is another question. Payments range from $200 to $1,050, depending on your taxable income, filing status and number of dependents.
