Many people outside the state love to hate on California. But our state has been doing great financially and is now running a budget surplus. In response to this–and to fight ongoing inflation–the state is sending a rebate check to many middle-class Californians starting in October.
How much can you expect to receive? That depends on several factors, including your income, the makeup of your household, and whether or not you filed 2020 taxes.
Determining Your Refund
To be eligible for the rebate, you’ll need to have filed your 2020 tax return on time. If you’re late on that return, it doesn’t appear that you’ll receive the October 2022 payment. If you did file in a timely manner, you’ve crossed that first hurdle.
The other determinants of how much money you’ll receive are whether you’re married or have dependents and also your income. The refund is intended to benefit the middle class and to help with increased costs for gasoline and other essentials, so it phases out for people with higher incomes.
Still, the income limits are fairly permissive, and the rebate doesn’t stop all at once. It adjusts downward at a few points depending on how much you earn.
Wondering how much you can expect to receive? The state of California has provided a calculator that can give you an estimate of your expected rebate. You can use it here.
This is a one-time program. You can expect to receive your check by January, although payments for many people will come as early as October.
Given historically high gas prices and lots of economic uncertainty, many California households are likely very much looking forward to receiving their funds from the state.
