State pays out $1.3 million in interest for late tax refunds

The Missouri Department of Revenue has paid taxpayers significantly more in interest from late tax refunds so far this year, according to a department spokesperson.

The department has paid about more than $1,372,059.07 since January as part of the 2018 tax season, compared to $549,468.05, $533,780.73 and $370,306.20 during the same time span in the previous three years.

One Missouri taxpayer tells ABC 17 News she has been waiting more than five months for her refund, which she submitted in May after filing for an extension.

Barb Harris, who is a longtime Missourian who filed as a part-time resident for the first time this year after moving out of state, said the department turned around her tax return in less than two months every year until the 2018 tax season.

Harris is one of about 24,000 that have not received their tax refund.

“I’ve received no update by email or text, either one, and every time I check it still says ‘review,'” Harris said. “They just got some real problems this year it appears.”

Anne Marie Moy, a spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, said there are several reasons why the tax refunds are still pending. Some were recently cleared and will be issued in the near future, others require more extensive review.

There are also still issues, she said, with a November systems change that Moy previously described as a “once-in-a-generation upgrade.”

On Monday, Moy told ABC 17 News in an email that the conversion to the new system was causing issues with some pending refunds.