ADOR offers tax filing tips

With the April 17 filing deadline for this year’s individual income taxes just over two weeks away, the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) has tips for taxpayers to avoid errors and make their filing easier.

Tips to avoid common errors:

Taxpayers can file now and schedule payments up until the deadline.

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) reminds monthly transaction privilege tax filers that returns are due.

Avoid the worry and hassle of mailing your return by using AZTaxes.gov, which is available at night and weekends. Our online filing and paying service is free, fast and easy — allowing payments to be scheduled up until the second to last business day.

To be in compliance with state law, you must file a return by its due date, even if there is no tax due for the filing period.

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) is advising Arizona taxpayers to be aware of a scam this tax filing season, which has been reported in other states and by the IRS.

Known as the “fake tax refund scam”, it involves thieves finding ways to steal client data from tax professionals. The criminals then take the stolen data to file fraudulent tax returns and use the taxpayers' real bank accounts to deposit those tax refunds.

Pinal County transportation excise tax rates

Pinal County has requested the Arizona Department of Revenue begin collecting a transportation excise tax beginning with the reporting period starting April 1, 2018. 

According to Pinal County, the rates applicable to taxpayers in Pinal County starting April 1, 2018 are as follows:

1/2 of 1% for the following business classifications identified in A.R.S. Title 42, Chapter 5, Article 2:

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) is reminding individual income tax filers who may need additional assistance this tax filing season to check out free tax preparation options available in the state.

Free tax filing services:

The Arizona Department of Revenue’s focus is on serving our customers, so the Agency feels it is important to provide awareness as to why there is sometimes a difference between the Department updating a rate change in its tax tables and the taxing jurisdiction.

The Department has an agreement in place with municipalities, which includes a process for when there is a tax rate change by any city or town, there is a 60-day period before implementation. This way our customers, Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT)-licensed businesses, have time to prepare for the tax rate change.

The Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) wants to assist Arizonans who decide to hire a professional tax preparer to do their individual income taxes this filing season.

When hiring a tax preparer here are some things to consider:

It was a successful 2017 for 91 Arizona municipalities under the Arizona Department of Revenue’s (ADOR) transaction privilege tax (TPT) program.

In 2017, more than $2.7 billion in municipal TPT was collected and distributed to the participating cities and towns for local programs and services by ADOR.

The 14 cities that joined the TPT’s single point of administration and collection of business taxes in 2017 received in excess of $1.9 billion, a 6.3 percent increase from expectations at the start of last year.

Tax-related scams and identity theft remain a serious issue all across the United States, so the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) reminds taxpayers to remain vigilant in protecting their private information from scam artists wanting to steal their identities for fraudulent refunds during this tax filing season.

The Arizona Department of Revenue has taken another step to deliver faster and more cost-effective tax service for Arizonans.

Taxpayers receiving Form 1099-G, which serves as a confirmation of the previous year’s state tax refund, can now go online to access and print the form.

Taxpayers can download and print their Form 1099-G by going to www.AZTaxes.gov, clicking on the “View My 1099-G” link and providing the necessary information.

Accessing Form 1099-G online is effective for a number of reasons: