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Department of Revenue: Individual tax returns delayed to May; refunds expected in weeks amid fraud checks
Summary
Department of Revenue officials told the legislative subcommittee that individual tax returns were moved from April to May after Hurricane Elaine, that processing began last week, refunds typically take 2–6 weeks, and the agency is watching for fraud. No budget request was made.
Hartley Powell, director of the Department of Revenue, told the Legislative Budget Subcommittee that South Carolina’s individual tax filing deadline was moved from April to May because of Hurricane Elaine and that the agency had begun processing returns the prior Monday.
Powell said refunds “take somewhere between 4 and 6 weeks, sometimes even it can be a 2 week turnaround,” and added the department is monitoring returns closely to prevent and detect fraud, which can slow processing. He said the department generated and dispersed about $20,000,000,000 last year, with roughly $13,000,000,000 to the general fund and $7,000,000,000 to local governments.
The department emphasized electronic filing and electronic transfer of funds as the fastest way to get refunds to taxpayers and asked legislators to “maintain what we have,” noting there was no budget or proviso request attached to today’s appearance.
Powell and Meredith Cleland, who accompanied him, described the agency’s customer-service role during the busy season and said staff regularly handle constituent issues and corrections. Cleland encouraged filing and payments by electronic means to reduce delays and paper-handling backlogs.
Committee members thanked Powell and Cleland for the department’s responsiveness and asked only clarifying questions during the update. There were no formal motions or budget actions taken at the hearing.
Details provided by the department, and questions from the subcommittee, indicate the office is prioritizing fraud detection and electronic processing as the tax season proceeds.
