In recent years, especially after payments related to the pandemic and rising gas prices in California, submitting a tax return has also become key to receiving money.
Then, in 2021, California started sending out its own pandemic stimulus payments, which reached up to $1,200. To get the payments, you had to have filed a 2020 tax return. The state did a second round of payments in late 2021, also predicated on having filed a 2020 return.
It’s a recurring problem. One of the main ways California helps people financially — and redistributes wealth — is by passing money through the tax system. It’s not just one-time pandemic payments; there are also yearly payments, called refundable tax credits, that provide thousands of dollars to lower-income people through the tax system.
That’s especially true for any Californian earning less than $30,000, Hasselblad said, because they are likely eligible for cash back, in the form of a tax credit. When she heard about the gas payments and learned they were based on 2020 tax returns, “I thought ‘Well, shit. I could’ve used that money,’” Kaufman said. It would have chipped away at her property tax and home insurance bills.“I’ll do it early. I’m not gonna wait until, you know, April.”
“We like to say, ‘It’s your money, go get it,’” said Hasselblad, with United Ways of California. “And going and getting it means also: Ask for help if you need it.”
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