More than 600,000 Californians haven’t touched their inflation relief money

It’s been a year and a half since California began sending direct payments to millions of residents to help ease the burden of inflation, but more than 600,000 people haven’t even touched the money they received. they have the right.

The state’s Franchise Tax Board began issuing the middle-class tax refund — commonly known as “inflation relief” payments — via direct deposit and debit card in October 2022. September last year the last round of payments had been sent.

All Californians except the wealthiest were able to benefit from some reduction in inflation. Payment amounts ranged from $200 to $1,050.

The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) estimates that 7.2 million payments were deposited directly into Californians’ bank accounts, totaling approximately $4 billion in profits. But an even larger number of people, about 9.6 million, received a debit card in the mail — and only 90% of those cards were activated.

A small number of the remaining debit cards have been converted to paper checks, but that still leaves 624,000 debit cards loaded with at least $125 million in benefits intact.

Californians still have about two years to activate and use the remaining funds.

Beneficiaries can activate their card by calling 1-800-240-0223. If you have lost your card or think it has been stolen, you can call the same number and follow the instructions to order a replacement.

Even among activated debit cards, many have not been fully used. Less than half of debit cards have a zero balance, according to the latest FTB accounting. Unused benefits will no longer be available after the program expires on April 30, 2026.