Finance and Administration Cabinet
April 17, 2007 deadline to file and pay 2006 Kentucky income taxes

(FRANKFORT, Ky.)—Kentucky individual and corporation income taxpayers will have until Tuesday, April 17, 2007 to file calendar year 2006 returns or to file an extension request.

The two additional days to file returns are due to April 15, 2007 falling on a Sunday, which requires tax filings to be submitted by midnight on the next business day. April 16, 2007 will be observed as a holiday, Emancipation Day, in the District of Columbia by virtue of a recent enactment by the D.C. Council.  Federal statute provides that holidays observed in the District of Columbia "have an impact nationwide.” As a result, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that the "next business day" is Tuesday, April 17, 2007.

Kentucky income tax law requires the commonwealth to follow the federal administrative interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code. Therefore, Kentucky will follow the federal government’s lead and extend the filing deadline for 2006 returns to Tuesday, April, 17. Kentucky is one of approximately 25 states to date that have followed the IRS lead and extended the filing deadline by one day. Other states include our neighboring states of Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.

All valid six-month extensions filed on or before April 17, 2007 will likewise extend the due date for filing a 2006 calendar year income tax return to October 17, 2007.

Individual taxpayers may skip the last-minute rush and avoid needless mistakes by filing early, taking advantage of the speed and convenience of electronic filing and choosing direct deposit for any refunds.

During tax season, the Department of Revenue (DOR) receives in excess of three million pieces of mail, including some 750,000 individual income tax paper returns, all of which must be opened, sorted and manually entered into DOR computer systems. E-filing allows the taxpayer to get their refund in as fast as five to 10 days if they elect for their refund to be direct deposit into their checking or savings account.

An added benefit of e-filing is the savings to the commonwealth. Each paper return processed by the DOR is estimated to cost approximately $1.62, compared to the estimated nine cents it costs to process an electronic return. As a result of the growing popularity of e-filing, the commonwealth has saved approximately $6.6 million since 2001 in the reduced cost of processing returns.

“Filing your taxes electronically saves the commonwealth money and reduces processing time, allowing taxpayers to get faster refunds,” said Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary John Farris. “Not only are these paperless transactions less costly and more efficient, they also reduce the number of paper forms printed each year, which is more environmentally friendly.”

More than one million Kentucky taxpayers may be eligible to prepare and file their taxes electronically at no cost thanks to a public-private partnership called the Free File Alliance. To find out if you qualify, visit http://www.revenue.ky.gov/freefile.htm.

Taxpayers who owe money may pay their 2006 Kentucky individual income tax online with Visa or MasterCard at www.revenue.ky.gov by clicking on the KY E-Tax logo in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Taxpayers who do not have access to the Internet, but wish to pay their taxes with a credit card may do so by calling the DOR at 502-564-4581.

All Kentucky income tax forms are available at http://www.revenue.ky.gov/forms/  or by calling 502 564-3658. Forms are also available from most local post offices, financial institutions and libraries, as well as any of the 10 DOR field offices throughout the state. A list of field offices is available at http://www.revenue.ky.gov/aboutus/taxpayerservicecenters.htm.

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