R.I. tax refunds may be delayed

RHODE ISLAND taxation officials said Thursday that refunds of state personal income taxes may be delayed slightly, due to additional steps being taken to counter fraudulent activity. R.I. Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said that the computer systems have not experienced any breaches to date. / COURTESY DIVISION OF TAXATION
RHODE ISLAND taxation officials said Thursday that refunds of state personal income taxes may be delayed slightly, due to additional steps being taken to counter fraudulent activity. R.I. Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said that the computer systems have not experienced any breaches to date. / COURTESY DIVISION OF TAXATION

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island taxation officials said Thursday that refunds of state personal income taxes may be delayed slightly, due to additional steps being taken to counter fraudulent activity.
Reports of fraudulent returns surged in several states last week, including in Massachusetts, where the state temporarily held state refunds for returns received through the TurboTax software.
Rhode Island has not temporarily halted its processing, instead it is reviewing more state returns and claims for refunds to look for evidence of fraudulent activity, according to a statement issued Thursday, including for filings from other providers.
The state is also working with Intuit, which produces the TurboTax tax preparation software, as well as other software providers to improve technology to weed out refund claims suspected to be fraudulent, the state said.
The TurboTax software was apparently being used by people filing fraudulent returns, using stolen personal identifications of taxpayers to claim state refunds in several states. Federal returns were not affected, according to a posting on the Intuit website. The company briefly halted transmissions after detecting an increased number of suspicious filings.
The increased steps to review tax returns at the state level is expected to cause a slight delay in returns.
In Rhode Island, the typical 10 to 15 day wait for a personal refund filed electronically will now take up to five more days, according to the state. Refunds from paper returns, filed by mail, will take another week more than the typical four to six week response.
“The R.I. Division of Taxation’s measures to combat fraud are strong and our computer systems have not experienced any breaches to date,” Rhode Island Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said, in a press release. “The additional measures we are taking will help support our existing work to protect and warn against tax fraud and to ensure refunds are properly issued.”

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