What You Should Know About California's Stimulus Checks

President Biden is working to pass his stimulus package as quickly as possible, which includes $1400 checks for most Americans. But he isn’t the only one. State governors are working to develop their own stimulus plans, including California governor Gavin Newsom, who announced this week that he had reached an agreement with the state's legislature to provide $600 stimulus checks to millions of California residents. Here's what you need to know.

When Will the Checks Be Sent Out?

Originally, Newsom's $600 stimulus check proposal was included as part of his 2021-22 budget, which meant it wouldn't be passed until this summer. But California's legislature agreed to expedite the process for approving the stimulus plan, and the bill will be officially passed via vote as early as Monday. Once it's officially passed, the checks should begin arriving within weeks.

Will Everyone in California Get the Stimulus Checks?

Not every California resident will receive the $600 checks on top of their federal stimulus disbursement. Newsom’s stimulus plan differs a bit from the federal one because it is targeted to low-income Californians. The stimulus checks will go to people who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is a tax break for low- to moderate-income workers and families. The cutoffs vary by your filing status and whether you have dependents, but you can check if you qualify with the IRS eligibility calculator here.

In addition to those who qualify for the EITC, those receiving social security or who are members of certain state-run assistance programs will qualify. So will undocumented people  whose income is less than $75,00 per year, as long as they pay taxes.

Although not everyone will qualify for the stimulus checks, 5.7 million California residents will, nearly 15% of the state's population. Most Californians earning less than $30,000 will be able to receive the payment.

What Else Does the Package Include?

Alongside the checks, California's stimulus plan includes relief for many of the state's small businesses. The small business aid plans in the bill include:

-$2 billion in additional grants for California's small businesses

-Tax relief for hard-hit industries like barbershops and restaurants. About 700,000 eligible small businesses will be allowed to deduct their PPP and EIDL funds from their California state taxes.

-$116 million in fee waivers for small businesses in the hospitality industry, who will not have to purchase licenses from the state for the next two years.

As this story develops and California’s  stimulus funds become available, we will update this post. In the meantime, make sure you have downloaded our app so you can get push notifications on the latest stimulus news, including EIDL grants, PPP loans, stimulus checks and even vaccine distribution.