Starting Friday, the state of California will begin sending out the money to help weather the storm of high food, gas, rent and utility costs.
The Middle Class Tax Refund is a one-time payment to provide relief to Californians, but you have to have filed your 2020 tax return by last October.
The payments will range from $400 to $1,050 for couples filing jointly, and $200 to $700 for all other individuals.
How much someone gets depends on their income and whether they claimed a dependent.
“On October 7th up to 23 million Californians will begin to benefit from the nation's largest state tax refund, some $9.5 billion,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a video he posted online Thursday.
The governor’s office said a total of 18 million payments will be distributed.
But will these checks significantly add to inflation?
San Diego State University Professor of Economics Hisham Foad doesn’t think so.
“People had a nice cushion during COVID, a lot of people did. Higher inflation is starting to eat into that. And so this will help a little bit,” he said. “I think as long as you’re continuing to see these increases in interest rates by the federal reserve, then I’m not that concerned this one time thing is going to have a huge impact on inflation.”
There’s some other potential good news: Gas prices might be about to head back down, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Marie Montgomery.
“Southern California is now experiencing all-time record gas prices. $6.43 a gallon in the San Diego area,” she said on Thursday. “People should be aware that gas prices should be coming down, so if you can put off filling up, that's a good idea.”
An estimated 8 million direct deposits will start arriving in bank accounts from October 7 through November 14, and about 10 million debit cards will be delivered from October 25 through January 15.
The refunds are also available for filers who use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead of a social security number.
To determine payment eligibility, visit taxrefund.ca.gov.
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More than $9 billion in gas rebate payments will start going out to millions of eligible Californians Friday. -
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