Georgia, IRS to begin taking tax returns today
From Staff Reportsnews@newnan.com
Tax filing season officially starts today, when the IRS first begins accepting tax returns.
It is also the first day that the Georgia Department of Revenue will begin processing more than four million individual returns.
Last year, the Georgia Department of Revenue put new security measures in place and stopped just over $98 million in fraudulent refunds. This year, the department will again be fighting to protect Georgia taxpayers against fraud, officials said.
Like 2012, Georgia will process each return comparing it to information in a database to ensure that the information provided on the return is accurate. If a tax return is flagged by our process because of potential inconsistencies, the taxpayer will be asked to provide the Revenue Department with some additional information in order to process the return.
“Our Office of Special Investigations has done a great job fighting fraud and protecting taxpayer money over the last several years,” said Department of Revenue Commissioner Doug MacGinnitie. “Stopping fraud continues to be a Department priority.”
With millions of returns to process, Georgia officials anticipate that filing electronically will be the fastest way for taxpayers to get their refund. Taxpayers who correctly file their returns electronically and have their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts will receive their refund within an average of seven to 10 business days. Refunds for taxpayers who correctly file paper returns will take around three weeks.
