More than 600,000 Californians with low to moderate incomes haven’t activated their Middle Class Tax Refund prepaid debit cards. This means hundreds of millions of dollars remain unspent, with the funds sitting on cards distributed between October 2022 and February 2023.

The Middle Class Tax Refund, a grant from California’s budget surplus, aimed to help residents cope with high prices. Depending on income and tax-filing status, the grants ranged from $200 to $1,050. The state disbursed $9.2 billion to 16.8 million taxpayers, with an average payout of $555 via direct deposit or $542 on prepaid cards.

As of April 8, 2024, more than half of the cards had unspent funds, and about 624,000 cards were not even activated. Reasons for this include mistrust in the distributing contractor, Money Network, and issues with address verification.

Eligible Californians who haven’t received or activated their cards can update their address with the Franchise Tax Board or contact Money Network at (800) 240-0223 to resolve any issues. Additionally, those worried about potential fraud can transfer the card balance to their bank accounts or sign up for transaction alerts through the Money Network mobile app.