RALEIGH, N.C. — Over the past few months, several people have reached out to Channel 9 saying while they got their federal tax refunds, they were still waiting for their North Carolina state refunds.
Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has been staying on top of the issue and asking the state for updates.
The North Carolina Department of Revenue said it started issuing refunds the first full week in April, and initially said that most taxpayers would get their money by April 30.
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Then, the state said many refunds are more likely to go out in May. In its most recent update, the NCDOR said that’s still the case -- most taxpayers will get their refunds by the end of the month.
The NCDOR said as of a few days ago, it had issued roughly 1.1 million refunds. It estimated it would issue close to 1 million more this week -- or 950,000. The agency told Stoogenke it’s paid out more than $364 million so far.
Tax officials have pointed to state lawmakers approving the NC budget later than usual as the reason for the delay. The state also saw several changes to its tax law. The State Department of Revenue has been saying for months that tax law changes would delay getting refunds to people.
The agency said it’s working every day, including weekends, to process returns and asked for the “public’s continued patience.”
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