GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some companies have already started sending out your W-2 form. The deadline for them is January 31. Then you can start filing your taxes, but the big question a lot of people online are asking is: when will you get your refund?
According to the North Carolina Department of Revenue, most state refund checks go out within about four weeks. Some take up to 12 weeks. When it comes to the bigger IRS refund, 90 percent of them go out within 3 weeks, but if you have a more complicated return, it may take a while longer for the IRS to review. Also, know the fastest way to get a refund is through direct deposit. Just triple-check that you entered the right routing numbers.
If you get a refund earlier than expected, you could be targeted by scammers like police officer David Woods was. One day he went to check his bank account and,
“I had about $9,015 more than I anticipated,” Woods said.
Here's how the scam works: the criminals get their hands on returns from previous years, and then use that information to file new fake returns on unsuspecting victims. After the refund goes into the victim's bank account, the crooks posing as debt collectors for the IRS follow up with a phone call claiming the refund was an error, then direct them to a fraudulent website to return the money sure enough, scammers called officer woods a week later. He told them off. Then he returned the money to the government, but his real refund of $3,000 was delayed.
Another way to avoid the scam is to file your taxes as soon as possible before the crooks can do it in your name.