Oregon to hold tax refunds until Feb. 15

Oregon Department of Revenue officials have announced that no personal income tax refunds for the 2016 tax year will be issued until after February 15 . The refund hold will allow data-matching of amounts claimed on returns to what employers report on Forms W-2 and 1099.

“Data-matching reduces potential refund fraud, and fraud is a problem we want to tackle from every direction we can,” said Ken Ross, manager of Revenue’s anti-fraud efforts. “The IRS, Oregon, and other states are taking similar measures to prevent potential fraud, capitalizing on the requirement that employers submit W-2 and 1099 information by January 31 .”

Ross referred to the IRS’ announcement earlier this year that taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit won’t see their federal refunds until after February 15 .

Revenue stops millions of dollars in fraudulent refunds each year: In 2015, anti-fraud efforts stopped $6.9 million in fraudulent refunds claimed on almost 4,000 different returns. Fraudsters are known to submit fraudulent returns early, trying to go unnoticed among the many early filers requesting legitimate refunds. Among returns filed before February 15 , approximately 90 percent request a refund.

“No one wants to hold up a taxpayer’s legitimate refund, and taxpayers have been pretty understanding of the need to combat fraud,” Ross said. “We take very seriously our responsibility to make sure tax dollars go to the legitimate owners and not to fraudsters.”

You can visit www.oregon.gov/dor to get forms, check the status of your refund, or make payments. You can call (503) 378-4988 or (800) 356-4222 (toll-free) or email questions.dor@oregon.gov for additional assistance. For TTY for hearing or speech impaired, call (800) 886-7204 . During peak calling times, you may experience an extended wait.