APRIL 30, 2009 ISSUE
N.C. Tax Returns Four Weeks Behind
Secretary of Revenue Expects Backlog Cleared By End of May
Delays in getting tax refunds to some North Carolina taxpayers started at the end of February and, according to N.C. Secretary of Revenue Ken Lay, the system is still backed up by four weeks or more.
“We’re still four weeks behind but we’re starting to catch up,” said Lay. “We expect the backlog to be caught up by mid- to late-May.”
The delay is a deliberate policy to manage the state’s $2 billion shortfall while still paying out returns.
“We’re managing the distribution of refund checks very cautiously because of our budget situation,” explained Lay.
If the N.C. Department of Revenue does not mail refund checks by June 1, the state must begin owing interest on processed refunds not mailed.
The N.C. Department of Revenue said on Monday, April 27, that it has issued more than 1.6 million tax refund checks totaling more than $1.1 billion so far this tax season.
For reference, the typical turn around time—from the time a tax form is submitted until the arrival of the return—is six to 12 weeks for paper returns and two to four weeks for tax forms filed electronically.
According to the N.C. Department of Revenue, residents who filed electronically are waiting up to eight weeks to receive a return and residents who filed through the mail are waiting up to 16 weeks for a return.
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