ADOR offers tax season tips

Tax Season 2018 begins Feb. 1, and the filing deadline this year is April 17. To help Alabamians with what can sometimes be a confusing process, the Alabama Department of Revenue has a few tips and suggestions to file a return safely and get that refund as quickly as possible.

• File early: As soon as taxpayers receive their W-2s, 1099s and other documents, they should file as soon as possible. Filing early can help ADOR get people’s refunds approved earlier; plus, it enables people to prevent ID thieves from stealing their information.
• Safety first: ADOR plays an important role in preventing state revenue and citizens’ money from ending up in the hands of criminals. Fraud detection reviews, accuracy checks and matching against employer W2s does require a little extra time, but it helps ensure people get their money, rather than criminals.
• Refunds: The ADOR will begin releasing 2017 income tax refunds March 1, after properly vetting and processing the returns of early filers, confirming the accuracy of legitimate returns and filtering out fraudulent returns. The best way to track the progress of a refund is online at My Alabama Taxes, www.myalabamataxes.alabama.gov. Citizens can also call the automated refund system toll‐free at 1-855-894-7391 or the call center at 1-800-535-9410.
• Take a selfie: Want to speed up your refund and protect your identity? Filers can download the free Alabama eID mobile app and enroll by scanning their driver’s license, taking a selfie and following the guided process in the app. The photo and driver’s license data will be compared to the driver’s license database and authenticated by ALEA to verify identity. With the eID verified, people can go to My Alabama Taxes to enroll in the “Opt-In” program, which will notify them when a return is filed with the department by sending a notification through the app. The app will allow people to securely verify that they did file the return or decline the transaction because they did not file the return. All eID-verified returns will be processed more quickly.
• File for free: People can file state returns for free using My Alabama Taxes. Filing returns will require them to sign up for a MAT username to access their income tax accounts, file returns and make payments.
• Keep in touch: After a return is filed, the ADOR might send letters asking for more information. If someone receives a letter, they should respond quickly so the ADOR can review the information as soon as possible.
• Fraud detection: To detect and combat tax identity theft, ADOR uses a variety of methods to validate identity and tax returns. To help protect information and keep money from going to criminals, the ADOR might send an Identity Confirmation letter that asks people to take a short online quiz or provide copies of documents to verify their identity or a return verification letter that asks the filer to verify online whether he or she filed the tax return the ADOR received
• Accuracy Checks:The ADOR reviews about 3-5 percent of individual income tax returns each year to resolve mathematical errors or request missing information and might send a letter requesting more information or a Tax Computation Change letter.

An often-asked question is, how long will it take to get my refund back? The date a return is filed and how the return is filed largely determines when the refund can be issued. For example, electronically-filed returns are received and processed significantly faster than returns that are mailed to ADOR. Also, if an error-free return is mailed in January or February, the taxpayer can expect to receive a refund sooner than if the return is filed in March or April. Last year, 20 percent of the income tax returns filed were received between April 1-18. Returns filed this close to the deadline could require as many as 90 days to process.

• First‐time filers: It will take additional time for new filers to be validated and entered into the ADOR system. Until that time, the Refund Status website won’t recognize these taxpayers and will report their returns as “not entered in system.” Returns will take eight to 12 weeks to process, according to the ADOR.
• E‐filers: Generally, e‐filers can expect their refund about eight to 10 weeks after the date they receive their filing acknowledgement from the state.
• Paper filers: The return will take about 10‐12 weeks to process. The ADOR must manually enter information from paper returns into the database.
• If the taxpayer received a letter from the ADOR asking for more information or to verify identity, the refund will be delayed until the requested information is received and reviewed.

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