The North Carolina Department of Revenue discovered earlier this week that some taxpayers’ electronic payments were drafted twice. The NCDOR knows which taxpayers have been impacted and has begun to contact the affected taxpayers directly. The NCDOR is already in the process of returning the funds electronically to these taxpayers. The affected individuals are not those who made payments on their 2017 tax return (due last week), but those making payments for earlier tax years.
The NCDOR knows what caused the problem, has corrected it, and has taken steps to prevent its recurrence. The cause was an error in the multistep payment process resulting from the high number of payments being made around the 2017 tax deadline. The number of taxpayers affected is 6,388, around one percent of approximately 629,000 payments submitted last week.
“On behalf of the North Carolina Department of Revenue, I apologize to affected taxpayers for this error,” said Revenue Secretary Ronald G. Penny. “I have directed the NCDOR staff to take all steps necessary to correct the situation, to contact taxpayers directly to let them know what happened, and to return their money as soon as possible. For other taxpayers, tax processing for the 2017 tax filing deadline, including the issuance of refunds, continues as normal.”
In addition to the NCDOR’s direct outreach, taxpayers may contact the Department at 1-877-252-3052
The NCDOR is refunding the money directly and will reimburse any bank overdraft or other fees associated with the issue.