California extends inflation relief payment schedule. These groups are still waiting

California extended its inflation relief debit card mailing time frame one month, meaning some eligible California taxpayers could be waiting until February to get paid.

The last group of people in line to receive their prepaid debit cards of up to $1,050 will be those who changed their address since filing their 2020 tax return. The California Franchise Tax Board’s new mailing time frame is Jan. 30 to Feb. 14.

Debit cards began rolling out in late October and were supposed to conclude on Jan. 14 with those who changed their banking information since filing their 2020 tax return. The Jan. 3 update, said tax board spokesman Andrew LePage in an email to The Bee, should only impact a small group of taxpayers.

Majority of all payments — direct deposits and debit cards — will be issued by Jan. 31.

The tax board has distributed, according to its website, more than $8.7 billion in inflation relief payments across the state since Oct. 7. More than 7 million direct deposits and more than 9.1 million debit cards have been issued.

Update for direct deposit recipients

The majority of the direct deposits were issued in November, LePage said, and another 460,000 payments should be processed by the end of the week.

“Anything beyond this week,” he said “will reflect uncommon situations where the returns are subject to manual review.”

When will I get my inflation relief debit card?

Debit card recipients should allow up to two weeks from the issue date to receive their payment in the mail.

Debit cards should have been mailed out by Dec. 10 to all previous Golden State Stimulus recipients whose last name starts with A-Z.

NON-GOLDEN STATE STIMULUS RECIPIENTS

Payments should have been mailed out by Dec. 31 to all non-Golden State recipients whose last name starts with A-Z.

Here’s the mailing time frame, according to the tax board’s website, for those whose information has changed since filing their 2020 tax return:

• Banking information change - will be mailed between Dec. 17 and Jan. 14
• Address change - will be mailed between Jan. 30 to Feb. 14

DEBIT CARD ELIGIBILITY

You should expect a debit card, according to the tax board website, if one of the following are true for you:

• Filed a paper return
• Had a balance due
• Received your Golden State Stimulus payment by check
• Received your tax refund by check regardless of filing method
• Received your 2020 tax refund by direct deposit, but have since changed your banking institution or bank account number
• Received an advance payment from your tax service provider, or paid your tax preparer fees using your tax refund

I haven’t received my inflation relief payment

Eligible California taxpayers who believe they should’ve received their payment may want to wait until Jan. 31 to inquire about missing funds.

“Most payments will fall into our online schedule,” LePage said “but we have long explained that for a variety of reasons some tax returns require additional review and this can result in a payment being issued beyond the stated time frames.”

Your payment might be issued by Jan. 31. If not, the tax board and its debit card distributor Money Network “can provide more details on the payment status.”

If you think you should have gotten a direct deposit sooner, follow these steps:

1. Check if you e-filed your 2020 tax return
2. Check if received your refund by direct deposit
3. Consult your 2020 California Tax Return to re-verify eligibility
4. Contact Money Network’s customer service line at 800-240-0223
   
   

If you think you should have gotten a debit card sooner, check if you qualify. Then call Money Network’s customer service line.

Call wait times, LePage said, are typically shortest on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 10:57 AM with the headline "California extends inflation relief payment schedule. These groups are still waiting."