State expecting 1 of 10 taxpayers to use e-return
| • | Additional resources on tax preparation, including tips from the IRS |
By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer
In this first year for Hawai'i to accept electronic filings of individual income tax returns, state officials are figuring about a tenth of the total returns will be zapped to their offices electronically by the April 20 deadline.
Already, many of the estimated 20,000 electronic filings are arriving in the Department of Taxation's upgraded computer network, said Linda Cacpal, acting taxpayer services branch chief in Honolulu.
"They've been coming in quite regularly," she said last week. "It's a plus for us because we don't have to handle them like paper returns."
Since electronic returns shoot straight into state computers, workers can handle the e-returns faster, turning around tax refunds in two to three weeks. Returns on the usual paper forms take five to six weeks, she said, and are more likely to include errors.
Electronic forms reduce mistakes by checking responses before a return is filed. "You can't file it," Cacpal said, "unless it's correct."
This year, not everyone can file electronically, anyway. To evaluate their new system for handling e-returns, officials are limiting the filings to some of the more basic and popular procedures.
For electronically filed returns, the state is accepting only the N-11 tax-return form along with a Schedule X tax-credit worksheet and W-2 wage statements.
Those forms allow for returns from, say, parties simply itemizing deductions, said Cacpal. But filers who need to attach additional schedules can't do so electronically this year. For example, a person claiming certain tax credits on a Schedule CR would need to use Form N-12, not N-11, and should submit them on paper.
Got that?
People submitting returns electronically from home need to be aware of one more key detail: The state wants the returns prepared on software from CompleteTax, which is available online. Cacpal said other popular software makers such as TurboTax and Intuit did not apply for state certification and have not yet been approved.
More information on filing from home is available by e-mail from the state's electronic filing coordinator at Efile@state.tax.hi.us
Professional tax preparers can choose among five approved software packages.
Since most returns — an estimated 180,000 — are still done the error-prone old-fashioned way, state officials recently issued a four-page list of tips and reminders.
Here are some bits of advice gleaned from the list:
• Married couples filing joint returns need to submit original signatures from both husband and wife.
• Couples filing separate returns still need to include the spouse's name and Social Security number in each return.
• Be aware that wage reports in W-2 forms don't always give the same amounts in boxes for federal and state reporting purposes. Variations are common for civilian employees of the federal government.
• Part-year and nonresidents must file Form N-15 rather than forms for permanent residents.
• Send your return by mail through the U.S. Postal Service or certain private delivery services such as Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide, Federal Express or United Parcel Service.
• Don't forget to include your Social Security number. That's the most common omission.
On the Web
- State of Hawai'i — www.state.hi.us/tax
- Complete Tax online program — www.completetax.com
