At least 750,000 Golden State Stimulus II checks will be mailed out to Californians this week beginning Monday, according to the Franchise Tax Board.
The previous batch of checks were mailed on Nov.1. The latest batch of 34,000 direct deposit payments were deposited on Friday and all payments are expected by the end of the year.
Eligibility for the stimulus is based on tax returns. The deadline for Californians to file their tax returns to qualify for the stimulus payments was on Oct.15.
"There will still be direct deposit payments over the next few months because of, among other things, the processing times associated with tax returns filed close to the Oct. 15 filing deadline, and because certain ITIN filers have until Feb. 15 to file their returns and still be eligible for GSS I and II," the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) said last month.
In total, $555 million approximately will be distributed state wide in the next few days as part of the $100 billion “California Comeback Plan”, the largest economic recovery package in California history that aims to assist families who may have been affected most by the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the FTB, the vast majority of direct deposit payments were issued last month. The state is expecting to issue checks through the beginning of 2022 for eligible residents.
The money is drawn from federal recovery funds and California Budget surplus. The program was expanded in July to cover people making $75,00 or less when it originally just aimed for Californians with low incomes.
Two out of every three Californians are eligible for a share of the $12 billion in Golden State Stimulus payments according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.
Most qualified Californians do not have to do anything to receive the payments as long as they have filed their 2020 tax return. Approximately two-thirds of residents will be eligible for the $600 payments, and those with children will receive an additional $500 according to Newsom.
Those who qualified for the first Golden State Stimulus payment and claimed a credit for one or more dependents will receive $ 500. For those who did not qualify for that stimulus payment and did not claim a credit on one or more dependents will receive $600. Individuals who did not qualify for that stimulus and claimed one or more dependents could receive $1,100. Those who qualified for the first stimulus and did not claim one credit or more dependents are disqualified from this round of the Golden Gate stimulus.
A series of constraints prohibited for payments to be released all at once. According to the FTB, "the state's ability to validate eligibility, protect against fraud and issue GSS II payments simultaneously with other mandatory disbursements”.
The Franchise Tax Board has a tool to estimate your stimulus amount on their website. Any additional information regarding the Golden Gate Stimulus can be found on the state’s help page.
