CA Stimulus Checks: When Will Yours Arrive?

CALIFORNIA — As part of a $5.7 billion "direct relief" package signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in late February, about 5.7 million Golden State residents could receive a $600 Golden State Stimulus payment within the next several weeks.

The injection of aid for struggling Californians during the coronavirus pandemic is part of a $7.6 billion coronavirus aid package that includes more than $2.1 billion in grants and fee waivers for small businesses and another $2 billion in tax breaks for businesses.

"Regardless of your status, those who have been left behind in that federal stimulus, California is not going to leave you behind," Newsom said in February.

Here's when you can expect a payment.

In order to receive a $600 or $1,200 stimulus check, qualifying Californians must first file their 2020 taxes with the state Franchise Tax Board. Those who did so between Jan. 1 and March could have already received a payment Thursday through direct deposit. Generally, payments will be deposited about 45 days after a return is processed, according to the state's Franchise Tax Board. Mailed checks may take a bit longer than a month to arrive.

See the state's Wait Times dashboard here.

Those who filed a tax return on or after March 2 may have to wait up to 45 days after a return is processed to receive a direct deposit. For mailed checks, it may take up to three weeks after a return has been processed. If it has been more than 45 days, the state can be contacted here.

A 2020 tax return must be filed by Oct. 15 to receive a payment.

Who will get the stimulus?

Generally, those who are eligible are Californians who have an annual income of $30,000 or less.

Those who have individual tax identification numbers and make $75,000 a year or less will also qualify. Many such payments will go to people living in the country without documentation.

Low-income families who receive assistance from the federal supplemental security income or state supplementary payment programs will be eligible. Those who benefit from CalWORKS, California's welfare-to-work assistance program, will also benefit and will receive payments on debit cards.

Some who are eligible under multiple categories could receive up to $1,200.

If any of these qualifications appear on your 2020 tax return, you could be eligible for the doubled amount:

• You are not a CalEITC recipient, but you filed with an ITIN and made $75,000 or less.
• You file a joint return and you are a CalEITC recipient, at least one of you files with an ITIN or you made $75,000 or less.

However, a report published by the California Policy Lab earlier this month estimated that 2.2 million, or 25 percent of low-income Californians could miss out on their federal stimulus payments.

An estimated 25 percent of low-income Californians who are enrolled in state safety net programs such as CalFresh or CalWORKS may miss out on stimulus payments both federally and at the state level, according to the report.

This is because the federal and state government relied on tax information from previous years to determine who is eligible for aid. But those who haven't filed in the last several years due to low income may have been excluded from receiving payment.

The best way to remedy this is to file a 2020 tax return, even if you have little to no income to report.

"While using tax data to automate payments was an effective way to get money out to most people fast, our research found this strategy unfortunately overlooks a significant share of Californians who need this money the most," said Aparna Ramesh, a Senior Research Manager at the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley, in a statement. "The stakes are high with billions of federal dollars not reaching low-income people in California and across the country."

Editors note: This article has been edited to clarify that the California Policy Lab estimated that 2.2 million, or 25 percent of low-income Californians could miss out on their federal stimulus payments — not the Golden State Stimulus.