The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has announced it is holding more than $15 million in returned state income tax refunds. Last year, nearly 49,000 refunds, ranging from $1 to $218,000 were returned to the state by the US Postal Service.
Typically, refunds are returned because the taxpayer changed residences after filing a tax return. FTB reminds taxpayers who have moved to update their address by using “Access Your Account” Â on FTB’s website at ftb.ca.gov. FTB reissues returned refunds automatically once a new address is received.
Taxpayers expecting a state refund, or unsure if they received their refund, can access “Check Your Refund Status” on FTB’s website. This service is available in both English and Spanish.
FTB encourages taxpayers to use direct deposit when filing their tax returns. Direct deposit is a fast and secure method to receive a tax refund within days rather than waiting weeks for a paper refund. Last year, more than 4.6 million California taxpayers used direct deposit to receive nearly $4 billion directly into their bank accounts.
As of mid-December 2010, FTB issued more than 9.4.million refunds worth more than $9 billion for an average refund of $967.
