2023 tax season underway in Alabama (2024)

Tax Season 2023 began Monday, and the filing deadline for individual income tax returns is April 18. To assist those filing, the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) is offering suggestions to help file your return and get your refund as quickly as possible.

FILE ELECTRONICALLY

Taxpayers who file their returns electronically and have their returns directly deposited into their bank accounts receive refunds quicker than those who file paper returns. It’s also more convenient to file from home and it eliminates the need to mail paper returns.

For more information on electronic filing options, visit https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/individual-income-tax-electronic-filing-options/.

FILE FOR FREE

Taxpayers can file state returns for free using My Alabama Taxes, however, it requires taxpayers to create an account. Sign up at myalabamataxes.alabama.gov. Individual Income Tax forms and instructions can be found at https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/forms/?jsf=jet-data-table:form-table&meta=form-year:2022&tax=form-categories:154.

Security

FILE EARLY – As soon as a taxpayers receive their W-2s, 1099s and other documents, they should file as soon as possible. Filing early can help ALDOR get refunds approved earlier, plus it enables taxpayers to get ahead of ID thieves.

EMPLOYERS

Employers must file employee W-2 information with ALDOR by Jan. 31. Employers who file late may face penalties and will slow the processing of their employees’ tax returns.

FOLLOW UP

After returns are filed, ALDOR may send letters asking for more information. If a taxpayer receives a letter from ALDOR, they should respond quickly so the department can review their information and get their refund to them as soon as possible. ALDOR will never contact taxpayers initially by phone, text or email, only by letters sent through the mail.

BEWARE OF SCAMS

Do not give anyone your personal information without confirming they are with the proper authorities. To detect and combat tax identity theft, ALDOR uses a variety of methods to validate identities and tax returns.

Be aware ALDOR may send: An Identity Confirmation letter that asks the taxpayer to take a short online quiz or provide copies of documents to verify their identity (https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/alabama-taxpayer-identity-protection-program/) or a return verification letter that asks the taxpayer to verify online whether they or their representative filed the tax return ALDOR received.

ALDOR stops and reviews about 3 to 5 percent of individual income tax returns each year to resolve mathematical errors or request missing information. To be sure that tax returns correctly reflect information and intent, ALDOR may mail a “request for information” letter asking for missing or additional information to support data reported on the tax return, or a “Tax Computation Change” letter that provides an explanation of changes that were made to the tax return.

Refunds

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 ALDOR. Also, if an error-free return is mailed in January or February, the taxpayer can expect to receive their refund sooner than if the return is filed in March or April. Generally, about 30 percent of income tax returns are filed between April 1 and April 30. Returns filed this close to the deadline may 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 ALDOR’s system. Until that time, the Refund Status website won’t recognize these taxpayers and will report their returns as “not entered in system.” It will take approximately 10-12 weeks to process a first-time filer’s return.

E?filers:

• Generally, e?filers can expect their refund about 8-10 weeks after the date they receive their filing acknowledgement from the state.
• Paper filers: The return will take about 8-12 weeks to process. ALDOR personnel must manually enter information from paper returns into the database.
• If the taxpayer received a letter from ALDOR asking for more information or to verify identity, the refund will be delayed until the requested information is received and reviewed by the department.

ALDOR will begin releasing income tax refunds on March 1. This will allow time to properly vet and process the returns of early filers, confirm the accuracy of legitimate returns, and filter out fraudulent returns. The best way to track the progress of refunds is My Alabama Taxes (myalabamataxes.alabama.gov). It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Those taxpayers who don’t have internet access can track their refund progress by calling our 24-hour refund hotline at 1-855-894-7391 or our daytime refund status line at 334-309-2612.

For more information about Individual Income Tax, visit https://revenue.alabama.gov/individual-corporate/.

'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); } else { var subMessage = document.createElement('div'); subMessage.id = 'sub-message-top'; subMessage.class = 'panel panel-default'; subMessage.style.backgroundColor = '#eee'; subMessage.style.borderRadius = '5px'; subMessage.style.padding = '10px'; subMessage.style.marginTop = '25px'; subMessage.style.marginBottom = '25px'; subMessage.innerHTML = '