RICHMOND - The Virginia Department of Taxation has been alerted to a phone scam related to the new Virginia Tax Refund Debit Card.

The Department has received reports of phone calls being made to individuals, telling them that their "Way2Go prepaid MasterCard is locked for security reasons."  The automated caller then tries to get the listener to divulge personal information.

This is a phone scam.  The Department never makes automated calls and never solicits personal information in this manner.  If you receive such a call, hang up immediately.  If the call is recorded as a voice mail, delete it.

The Department goes to great lengths to protect the confidentiality and privacy of taxpayer information.  This scam is not related in any way to the security of the new tax refund debit card or any information that taxpayers may submit to the Department.  The Department cautions individuals never to give personal information to anyone calling unless they can verify the source.

A division of Xerox Corp. administers the new Virginia Tax Refund Debit Card and refers to it as the "Way2Go" card.

The Department is working with other government agencies, law enforcement, the debit card vendor, and the telephone companies involved to try and end the phone scam.  

If you aren't already, please consider taking advantage of the following resources/tools available to you:

Tax Professionals Hotline (804) 367-9286 - Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM to provide quick responses to your inquiries about client accounts or other tax questions for any tax type administered by the Department.

Tax Professionals Page on the Department's website - Provides electronic filing information, early release forms, instructional materials, and special contact information.

Laws, Rules and Decisions Page on the Department's website - Offers a variety of information, from Tax Bulletins to Legislative Summaries, to Rulings of the Commissioner.  This is a great tool for researching the latest interpretations of Virginia tax law.

Other website features and services you may find helpful are the Department's "What's New" pages for both individual and business tax types, tax forms, the Department's online filing and secure messaging services, and agency publications, just to name a few.   

If you aren't already, please consider taking advantage of the following resources/tools available to you:

Tax Professionals Hotline (804) 367-9286 - Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM to provide quick responses to your inquiries about client accounts or other tax questions for any tax type administered by the Department.

Tax Professionals Page on the Department's website - Provides electronic filing information, early release forms, instructional materials, and special contact information.

Laws, Rules and Decisions Page on the Department's website - Offers a variety of information, from Tax Bulletins to Legislative Summaries, to Rulings of the Commissioner.  This is a great tool for researching the latest interpretations of Virginia tax law.

Other website features and services you may find helpful are the Department's "What's New" pages for both individual and business tax types, tax forms, the Department's online filing and secure messaging services, and agency publications, just to name a few.   

If filing a joint return on Form 760, your client may qualify for a reduction in net tax of as much as $259.00 by taking advantage of the Spouse Tax Adjustment (STA).  Taxpayers must use Filing Status 2, and each spouse must have taxable income and their combined income must be at least $3,000.  

As you know, married taxpayers filing separately automatically receive the benefit of a lower tax rate on each of their individual returns but when filing jointly and combining their income they must take the STA to receive the benefit of a lower tax rate.

The STA is calculated based on each spouse's portion of the joint Virginia Adjusted Gross Income (VAGI).  To claim the STA for your clients, complete Form 760, Lines 16a and 16b using the spouses separate VAGI amounts.  Verify that the total of the separate VAGIs equal the total on Form 760, Line 9.  An STA calculator is located on the Department's website.  

The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act provides exemptions from income and personal property taxes when certain criteria are met.  Under this law the spouse of military service members do not automatically become liable for income and personal property taxes as Virginia residents when they are present in Virginia solely because their spouse is a member of the military serving in Virginia.  Visit the Department's website for details.

The fastest way to get your clients their refund is to e-File their tax return and select Direct Deposit. 

• Refunds using any of the e-File options requesting a Direct Deposit take approximately 1 week. 

• Refunds using any of the e-File options requesting a Refund Debit Card take approximately 2 weeks.

• Refunds from paper filed returns requesting a Direct Deposit take approximately 6 weeks.

• Refunds from paper filed returns requesting a Refund Debit Card take approximately 7 weeks. 

Important Reminder:

When selecting Direct Deposit, always clear the taxpayer's saved bank routing and account information from the previous year and reenter the information again for the current year.   

• Have your clients gather their tax records and information such as current banking information, change of address, income statements and any supporting documentation in advance and have everything that you will need when delivering their files to your office. 
  
  
• Especially make sure you have their birth date(s), current banking information, if they are using Direct Deposit, and any address changes before they leave your office.

• Please make sure the client is aware of the two refund options and have them make the selection that works best for them.

• Make sure your clients are aware that they can e-file and warehouse their payment for any date in the future right up to, and on, the due date.   

NEW for e-File for the 2012 Taxable Year

All forms that can be e-Filed are now eligible.  There are no longer requirements that will result in you having to file paper for your clients.  You simply scan and attach all documentation, attachments, schedules, out-of-state tax returns, etc. to the file and submit.  The scanning and attaching of required documentation is optional and will not prevent your client's return from being accepted if it is not attached.  However, returns that require an attachment for which there is none, even though accepted, will result in a letter to your client requesting the missing attachment(s) and will delay their refund by approximately 30 days.

e-File Begins Accepting Returns Wednesday, January 30, 2013

You can expect to receive acknowledgement that your clients' e-Filed returns were accepted or rejected within 24 hours of transmission to the Department.

If you prepare more than 50 Virginia individual income tax returns, then you are required to e-File all of your clients' returns.  The only exceptions are if the taxpayer voluntarily opts out of having their return e-Filed. 

Visit the Tax Professionals Page on the Department's website for more information and the list of 2012 approved software vendors.