California's $600 stimulus check – 5.7million residents qualify for state's Covid relief money

CALIFORNIA will issue a $600 stimulus check to 5.7million residents who qualify for the state’s Covid relief money. 

The Golden State Stimulus payment will be sent to eligible residents by direct deposit or check, to aid those suffering financial hardship amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The payments are in addition to the third round of $1,400 stimulus checks currently being issued by the federal government. 

It was established as part of a $7.6billion coronavirus relief package in the state. 

State officials have revealed that among the eligible residents are those who receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit.  

Individuals who qualify for the EITC and also file their taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number will receive an extra $600, meaning their check will amount to $1,200. 

"You may receive this payment if you receive the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) or file with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN),” said the California Franchise Tax board (FTB).

"You must include your ITIN on your tax return,” the FTB advises.

“Your ITIN cannot be pending. Wait to file your tax return until you have your ITIN. You are eligible for the GSS [Golden State Stimulus] if you file on or before October 15."

In order to qualify for CalEITC, residents must have taxable income up to $30,000, Newsweek reports, and have made $75,000 or less. 

They must not use "married/RDP [Registered Domestic Partner] filing separately," if married. 

Residents must also have filed their 2020 taxes. 

If you did this between January 1 and March 1, the FTB has processed your return and you will receive your stimulus payment after April 15. 

TAX RETURNS PROCESSED

The FTB cautions that an eligible resident will not receive their payment until their taxes are filed. 

New batches of the payments are processed twice a month.

According to Newsweek, the first information on eligible residents was sent to FTB on April 15 and including those who had filed taxes by March 1. 

Residents who filed taxes between March 2 and April 23 should expect to receive the $600 stimulus payment in May. 

The FTB states that Californians should allow two weeks for direct deposits to appear and four to six weeks for checks sent by mail. 

For those who have not filed taxes by April 23, they should allow for their return to be processed first.

After this, they should allow 45 days for the stimulus payments to be processed and issued by FTB. 

CALIFORNIA STIMULUS WEBSITE

California has a wait-time website to give you an idea how long the FTB is taking to process tax returns.

Those with questions about their stimulus checks can contact the board over the phone or talk to a representative on their website.

The state's plan supersedes the third stimulus package by one month.

The California Policy Lab found that over an estimated 2million low-income citizens are missing out on over an estimated $5.7billion in possible stimulus payments.

The stimulus plan is mostly intended for those already on some sort of financial aid package, specifically those who have been most impacted financially by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes as calls increase for a fourth and even a fifth federal stimulus package as Democrats claim that more funds are needed to aid families in financial difficulty.

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