Correction (Feb. 17 12:20): Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the state sent out fewer than 300,000 individual income tax refund checks totaling about $364 million by this time last year. They actually totalled about $264 million. The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
For the second year in a row, eager taxpayers might have to wait longer than normal to receive their tax refunds.
College students might be particularly likely to see a delay because of permanent address issues.
The N.C. Department of Revenue announced Friday that it would be delaying tax refunds, but officials said they are still unsure exactly how long the delays would be.
“We know people aren’t going to like it, but we want them to know,” said Thomas Beam, public affairs manager for the department.
Last year, the department did not announce the delays, angering taxpayers.
“We want to be more transparent,” Beam said, acknowledging that the department did not respond well last year.
Despite the delay, the state is doing better at distributing refunds this year than last year, but there are more refund filings to process. The department is unsure why it has more refunds this year.
As of Feb. 10, the state had sent out 582,261 individual income tax refund checks amounting to more than $302 million.
By the same time last year, the state had sent out fewer than 300,000 individual income tax refund checks, which totaled almost $264 million.
It is in the state’s best financial interest to send out refund checks promptly, since any refunds not issued by June 1 begin to accrue interest.
“We are managing the distribution of refunds just like you would manage a personal checkbook,” Beam said. “We want to make sure the money is in the account first.”
Roby Sawyers, an adjunct accounting professor at UNC, said he doesn’t foresee any immediate major economic impact from the delays, but that if they become a pattern, it may reduce the amount of tax revenue the state collects throughout the year.
“The thing that’s bad about it is that it’s not the state’s money. It’s the taxpayers’,” Sawyers said.
Kelsey Harvey, a sophomore anthropology major, works 10 hours a week at the UNC Neuroscience Center. She said that if she doesn’t receive her tax refund, she may have to ask her parents for money.
“I’d feel uncomfortable having to put my parents in that situation, because they count on it, too,” Harvey said.
The key to minimizing the delay is proper tax filing, Beam said.
Common mistakes in tax filings include math errors, improper account and bank routing numbers and incorrect addresses.
Incorrect addresses are a common mistake among college students since they tend to move frequently, Beam said.
Between 20,000 to 30,000 refund checks are returned to the department each year because of inaccurate mailing addresses, he said.
The department is unable to provide exactly when taxpayers can expect to get their refunds because the distribution of the refunds is being managed on a week-to-week basis, Beam said.
“Everyone due a refund will get a refund,” Beam said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
