A
number of State of Rhode Island checks have recently been printed and
distributed in duplicate. Approximately 500 of those were Rhode Island personal
income tax refund checks. The Rhode Island Division of Taxation does not print
and distribute personal income tax refund checks; those functions are handled
by other State agencies. Nevertheless, the Division of Taxation would like to
take this opportunity to provide guidance on the matter to tax professionals and other stakeholders who may have questions.
Guidance
A taxpayer may have recently
received two State of Rhode Island envelopes in the mail, each containing a
paper tax refund check with the same check number and same dollar amount.
It is not possible for
a recipient to cash both checks. That is because of an automatic fraud
detection system, sometimes referred to as “positive pay”. Due to that fraud
detection system, once a check is cashed, it cannot be cashed again, and its
duplicate cannot be cashed. Thus, the recent printing and distribution of a
number of duplicate State of Rhode Island checks does not expose the State of Rhode
Island to financial loss, other than the cost of printing and mailing.
If a taxpayer
receives duplicate Rhode Island personal income tax refund checks, the taxpayer
should choose one of the checks to cash and should mail the other check to the
Division of Taxation, along with a brief note of explanation, to the following
address:
Rhode Island Division of Taxation
Personal Income Tax Section
Attention: Duplicate Checks
One Capitol Hill
Providence, R.I. 02908
Anyone with questions
may call (401) 574-8829, option # 3. (Note: The duplication involves paper
refund checks, not refunds by direct deposit.)
In perspective
So far this year, the
Division of Taxation has issued 387,973 personal income tax refunds. The duplicate
checks involved 500 personal income tax refunds – in other words, a small fraction of the total. Nevertheless, each taxpayer is important, so it is imperative that the Division provide guidance for anyone who may have received a duplicate check.
Refunds to date
So far this year, the
Division of Taxation has issued $218 million in personal income tax refunds (for
all years, including interest and offsets), up 20 percent compared with the
corresponding period a year earlier, and nearly 390,000 personal income tax
refunds, up 13 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.
Rhode Island personal income tax refunds
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2016
Year to date
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2017
Year to date
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Difference
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Total dollar amount of refunds
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$ 182,181,067.90
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$ 218,232,701.54
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+ 20%
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Total number of refunds
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343,258
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387,973
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+ 13%
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Average amount per refund
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$ 530.74
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$ 562.49
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+ 6%
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Cumulative, year‐to‐date, personal income tax refunds for all years
(including interest and offsets) as of April 25, 2016, and April 24, 2017.
Numbers and percentages are rounded.
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