The Montana Department of Revenue is offering expanded hours at its call center to assist taxpayers during the days before the April 18 deadline for filing income tax returns.
Taxpayers who need assistance can call the department’s 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. The call center will have extended hours during the last days of tax season. Beginning Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, help will be available from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m .; on Saturday, April 16, hours will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m .; and Monday, April 18, hours will be 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
The department strongly encourages taxpayers to file their taxes electronically. “It takes a great deal of time, resources and taxpayer money for the department to process paper returns,” says Revenue Director Mike Kadas. “But when people e-file their returns, we have those returns in our system automatically, which equates to saving time and money. Plus, taxpayers get their refunds much sooner than if they filed by paper.”
Taxpayers can file electronically using the department’s e-filing service, Taxpayer Access Point (TAP), or one of many commercial e-filing products including MontanaFreeFile.org. For all electronic filing and payment options, visit revenue.mt.gov and click Online Services.
Some refunds are taking longer this year due to extra security and review procedures following an increase in fraudulent tax return filings. Since this tax season opened on January 19, the department has blocked 273 fraudulent returns totaling $345,095.
The department has processed more than 360,717 individual income tax returns so far for the 2015 tax year. These numbers include both electronic and paper returns. The department has issued 287,992 refunds averaging $417. To check the status of their refunds, taxpayers can go online to the Department of Revenue website at revenue.mt.gov/onlineservices/wheres-my-refund and read the Where’s My Refund FAQs. These questions and answers help taxpayers check the status of their refunds on Taxpayer Access Point.
In addition to calling the department call center, taxpayers can receive assistance by visiting the Mitchell Building in Helena, 125 North Sanders, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Customer parking is on the building’s east side. Assistance is also available at the department’s offices in Missoula at 2681 Palmer Street. If taxpayers need help filing electronically, they can prepare their state income tax return on paper and take it to the office where we’ll help them e-file at no cost.
There are also more than 100 volunteer tax preparation sites around the state through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and AARP Tax-Aide Montana. To find out if you qualify and to see a list of locations, visit MontanaFreeFile.org. Taxpayers can also use an authorized tax preparer for assistance. For more information, visit revenue.mt.gov.
April 15 is the deadline for submitting an application for various tax relief options. The Property Tax Assistance (PTAP) and the Montana Disabled Veteran Property Tax Relief (MDV) programs can give property tax relief to qualifying low-income homeowners. April 18 is the deadline for the 2EC, an income tax credit for elderly homeowners and renters. Information and applications are available online at revenue.mt.gov under Property Assessment, Property Tax Relief.
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