Seal of the Governor
For Immediate Release: March 6, 2019
Contacts: Alenaa Yarmosky, Alena.Yarmosky@governor.virginia.gov | Virginia Department of Taxation: Stephanie M. Benson, Stephanie.Benson@tax.virginia.gov, (804) 219-8440

Governor Northam Praises Virginia Tax Department’s Work Through Backlog of Over One Million Individual Income Tax Returns

Virginia filers encouraged to complete and track status of returns

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today praised the Virginia Department of Taxation for its completion of the backlog of individual income tax returns they accepted but did not process while awaiting action from the General Assembly.

“I want to thank everyone at the Virginia Department of Taxation for their hard work to return tax filing season to business as usual,” said Governor Northam. “I am impressed by the hard work of our state tax employees to work through this backlog, and I encourage Virginians who have not already filed to complete their returns.”

State tax employees worked diligently through the backlog which at one point exceeded one million returns.

“I appreciate the Herculean effort from the Virginia Department of Taxation,” said Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne. “This achievement is because of their long hours, and our taxpayers are benefiting from their hard work.”

“This has been an agency-wide effort and I’m proud of our team,” said Tax Commissioner Craig M. Burns. “We are carefully processing returns without compromising our refund fraud prevention measures—taking the time needed to ensure that refunds go to the rightful owners. Taxpayers whose returns are selected for review will experience slower turnaround times for refunds.”

You can check on the status of your refund 24 hours a day, seven days a week using the Where’s My Refund application on the Virginia Tax website or by calling (804) 367-2486.

Visit www.tax.virginia.gov for more information about refund fraud prevention, including steps you can take to reduce the chances that your return will be stopped for review.

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