The Montana Department of Revenue would like to remind taxpayers that they can receive their tax refund sooner if they file their taxes electronically by e-filing. Starting January 21, the Department of Revenue will begin accepting and processing Montana 2013 individual income tax forms filed on Montana Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) https://tap.dor.mt.gov/. E-filing your state income tax return—Form 2EZ, 2M, 2 or 2EC—is free.
While January 21 is the start date for processing e-filed Montana individual income tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced plans to open the 2014 individual income tax filing season on January 31. Tax software companies who have successfully tested and are approved for Montana e-filing may begin accepting federal/state tax returns in January and hold those returns until the IRS systems open on January 31. What this means for Montana taxpayers is that if you e-file your federal and state individual income tax returns using IRS software or a third party software provider, the state won’t receive your return until January 31 or later.
If, however, you still prefer to file paper returns, you can find them online at http://www.revenue.mt.gov. You can also pick up your 2013 Montana tax forms at libraries, post offices, county offices and some banks around the state. Although paper forms are available for filing, we won’t begin processing those forms until February 18 at the earliest.
Keep in mind that no matter how soon in the tax season you submit a paper tax return, you’ll receive your refund faster if you e-file because of the extended time required to process paper.
“While we encourage citizens to e-file your state income taxes because you’ll get your refunds faster, no matter how you file, we appreciate the effort that it takes,” said Mike Kadas, director of the Department of Revenue.
Taxpayer assistance is available year-round through the department’s call center. Our call center staff is prepared to answer not only individual income tax questions but most all questions about Montana’s tax system.
If you have questions or need help filing your Montana tax return, please don’t hesitate to call our call center toll free at (866) 859-2254, or in Helena at 444-6900. Regular call center hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Watch for our extended hours during the last week of tax season.
The department also has walk in assistance in our Helena and Missoula offices. The address of our Helena office is 125 North Roberts. Our Missoula office is located at 2681 Palmer Street. Also there are more than 100 volunteer tax preparation sites around the state through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and AARP Tax-Aide Montana. To find out if you qualify for free tax preparation assistance and to see a comprehensive listing of locations, visit http://www.montanafreefile.org. You can also access the information through the department’s website at http://www.revenue.mt.gov.
One final note; Corporation, S-Corporation, Partnership and Fiduciary returns for 2013 will not be available for filing on TAP due to the small volume of these returns filed through the department’s website for 2012. We apologize for any inconvenience to those businesses who previously filed these returns through TAP. Taxpayers can still file these returns electronically through their tax preparer or by purchasing a tax software product.
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