Up to the Minute..

Press Release
April 14, 2010

Returns Hit Over One Million; Electronic Filing Encouraged

April 15 is only hours away, and the Oklahoma Tax Commission announced that more than 1.1 million Oklahoma income tax returns have already been filed—over 70% of Oklahomans have taken advantage of e-file so far.

“The income tax filing season has been going remarkably well,” said Paula Ross, Oklahoma Tax Commission spokesperson.  “However with the last minute rush of filers we anticipate receiving another 600,000 returns over the next few days.  We are urging Oklahomans with last minute returns to e-file.”

Just over 78% of Oklahoma taxpayers or 913,936 taxpayers have received refunds. Currently the average refund for tax year 2009 is $392.29. The OTC is processing refunds with taxpayers who took advantage of e-file in an average of eight to ten days.

This season has gone extremely well, with taxpayers who are filing paper returns receiving their refunds in an average of two to six weeks.  “With the final rush of returns due over the next couple of days taxpayers can expect a longer wait time to receive refunds, especially when filing by paper which in some cases can be up to 12 weeks,” stated Ross.    

If you have not already filed your 2009 Oklahoma income tax returns don’t worry.  It is estimated that nationally as many as one-fifth of all taxpayers wait until the week before the April 15 deadline to prepare their income tax returns. 

If a taxpayer finds that they will not be able to meet the April 15th deadline then they can request an extension on Oklahoma Form 504 to file their personal Oklahoma income tax return. This extension only grants taxpayers an additional amount of time to file their return and does not grant taxpayers an additional amount of time to pay taxes that may be due.

Information about filing Oklahoma state tax returns, answers for many tax questions, and options for electronically filing tax returns may all be found on the agency website at www.tax.ok.gov.

Link: Last Minute Income Tax Filing Tips
Link: Electronic Filing Options
Link: Oklahoma Income Tax Forms
Link: Oklahoma Form 504: Application for Extension of Time to File