Members of The Georgia Society of CPAs (GSCPA) met on August 23 with Georgia Department of Revenue officials at the GSCPA Learning Center to discuss current issues affecting tax practitioners and their clients.

GSCPA State and Federal Tax Task Force members welcomed attendees from across the state. During the meeting, Department officials provided an overview of the past year, challenges the Department is facing, and information on future initiatives.

Department Commissioner Lynne Riley started off the meeting by thanking attendees, “Your prosperity and the prosperity of your clients has provided the state of Georgia with the highest revenue collections on record. We came to the end of our fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2016, with revenue collections of $20.8 billion dollars. We are very proud of that number."

In the fiscal year 2015, the Department collected $26.4 billion in gross tax revenues and distributed $4.8 billion in sales tax revenues to counties and municipalities. Utilizing advanced technology, the Department processed nearly 4.5 million individual income tax returns and issued almost 3.2 million refunds.

The Commissioner has also shared that due to increased fraudulent activity this filing season, 2015 Georgia Income Tax Returns have taken longer to process. Riley stated in a DOR press release from May, “Whether it be one of the many data breaches that have been reported in the last year, or a spoofing or phishing scam, every incident requires us to modify our systems to protect the affected taxpayers.” This year the Department has successfully blocked over $47 million in fraudulently filed returns.

The Department will be conducting a usability study of the Georgia Tax Center to improve the website for users. Volunteers with experience using the GTC are needed. To volunteer, please contact Darcy Pyle, assistant director, taxpayer services at darcy.pyle@dor.ga.gov.

Items of note from the meeting:

• State-of-the-art fraud defense technology is being used to review every return
• “Credit Manager” software was implemented this year
  • Companies selling credits before they are generated by the DOR is the most common error
  • Taxpayers are also incorrectly putting SSO FEIN instead of their SSN
• Two-factor authentication is now available to provide more security for your GTC web logon
• Do not expect individual income tax refunds until mid-February 2017
• Advise clients to allow for 90 business days to receive individual tax refunds
• Encourage clients to register with the GTC to better monitor the status of their refunds
  • https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/_/
• Individuals may also check their refund status using the myGAtax mobile app
• Check the DOR’s social media sites for updates:
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/GADeptofRevenue
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorgeorgia

Processing Tips - Payments

• Legal and numeric lines on the check should be verified to make sure that they match. 
• Do not write on or over the scan line on coupon or MICR line on check.
• Fill out coupon correctly - ensure correct account number and tax period are entered.
• Register taxpayer accounts with Georgia Tax Center (GTC)

Processing Tips - Returns

• Make sure correct form version is submitted.
• Verify taxpayer information is accurate to include current mailing address.
• Register taxpayer accounts with Georgia Tax Center (GTC)