End of January Deadline for Middle Class Tax Refunds: Payments Still Pending

The state of California has announced that it will be extending the deadline for the distribution of remaining Middle Class Tax Refunds payments (MCTR payments). The inflation relief payments, which were first announced last summer and began to be sent out in October, will now continue to be distributed through February.

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the state agency responsible for disbursing the funds, initially released a payment schedule indicating that the final phase of payments would be completed on January 14th. However, the FTB has now stated that while the “vast majority of recipients” will still have their payments issued by this date, people whose addresses have changed since they filed their 2020 taxes may have their debit cards sent out between January 30th and February 14th.

Additionally, people who were expecting to receive a direct deposit should check their bank accounts this week as the FTB is issuing another large round of MCTR payments for people whose information needed “additional review.” According to an FTB spokesperson, “some folks qualified for a direct deposit payment but were not part of the initial wave, which was wrapped up by November 14th last year.

The bulk of all direct deposits were issued by then. However, some payments require additional review and were, or will be, issued later. We anticipate that an additional 460,000 MCTR direct deposit payments will be issued by the end of this week.” The schedule extension and late batch of direct deposits may provide hope for individuals who have yet to receive their MCTR payment.

To qualify for the payout, individuals must have fulfilled the following criteria:

• They must have filed their 2020 tax return before October 15, 2021
• They could not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2020 tax return
• They must have been a resident of California for at least six months during the 2020 tax year
• They must have been a California resident on the date the payment was issued

According to an email from the Tax Board, taxpayers who qualify for the refund have two options for receiving their payment. They can either contact the Money Network at 800-240-0223, the company responsible for issuing refunds via debit card, or wait until January 31st. Additionally, individuals who are expecting to receive a direct deposit should check the status of their payment or verify their eligibility by calling the Franchise Tax Board customer service line before January 31st if they have not yet received it.