$125M In Inflation Relief Payments Remain Unclaimed In California

CALIFORNIA — More than 600,000 Californians are sitting on unclaimed money that was distributed by the state to help ease the burden of inflation, which for some people exceeds $1,000.

The state began issuing the Middle-Class Tax Refund by direct deposit and debit cards in October 2022. By September 2023, the last round of payments had been sent out. But many people who were issued debit cards haven't activated them yet, according to the Franchise Tax Board.

The method of payment varied based on several factors, including how the recipient filed their taxes in 2020.

Many Californians saw their bank accounts go up overnight: 7.2 million payments were sent via direct deposit.

But even more came in the form of prepaid debit cards, which were sent through the mail. And of the 9.6 million debit cards issued, around 624,000 haven't been activated or converted to checks, according to the most recent data from the Franchise Tax Board.

Altogether, those recipients are sitting on $125 million.

In many cases, single people who earned less than $250,000 and married people earning less than $500,000 qualified for the payments, which range from $200 to $1,050 depending on filing status, income and whether the taxpayer has dependents.

Those who believe they qualify but have not received a payment can find instructions on how to get their refund on the Franchise Tax Board's website.