Department of Revenue News Release

JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Department of Revenue will be distributing important tax information in a new way.

In previous years, the Department mailed a Form 1099-G letter to taxpayers who itemize their deductions on their federal income tax return.  Beginning Jan. 10, the Department will mail a postcard - instead of a letter - to affected taxpayers showing them how to retrieve their 1099-G information online or by calling the Department of Revenue.  The postcards will be mailed in stages, and all postcards will be mailed by Jan. 31.

The 1099-G notes the amount of overpayment a taxpayer received from the Department during the preceding calendar year.  The amount noted is usually an income tax refund received during the previous year.

As an example, if a person received a $600 refund from the Missouri Department of Revenue in 2009, and he or she previously itemized their deductions on their federal tax return, that person would have received a Form 1099-G letter in early 2010 that noted the $600 in income received from the Department in 2009.

The federal Internal Revenue Service requires government agencies to notify individual taxpayers about payments such as refunds.  This requirement means that individual taxpayers must also report their refunds as income to the IRS when completing their federal tax returns.  That fact makes the information on the Form 1099-G crucial to accountants, financial planners and individual citizens who want to accurately complete tax returns.

"The new postcard format has a lot of advantages," said Alana M. Barragán-Scott, director of the Department.  "The most prominent benefit is that it saves taxpayers a tremendous amount in postage and mailing costs."

An estimated 750,000 citizens will receive the Form 1099-G postcard.  The revised format will save the Department about $75,000.

The postcard will inform taxpayers of two ways of obtaining their Form 1099-G information.  They can go online and visit www.dor.mo.gov/tax/1099G, or call (573) 526-8299.  With either option, a taxpayer will need to have his or her Social Security number, their home address zip code and the filing status noted on their most recently filed tax return.  (Examples of filing status include single, married filing jointly or separate, and head of household.)  People who go online also have the option of printing their actual 1099-G form.

"Obtaining your Form 1099-G information will be a convenient and secure process," Barragán-Scott said.  "No private information will be on the postcard.  It will just instruct taxpayers on how to obtain the information they need.  More and more people are used to going online to complete transactions, so it just makes sense to have this option available for Missouri citizens.  But no matter whether people choose the online or telephone option, taxpayers will have the convenience of obtaining their 1099-G information in a secure manner 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

For more information about the Form 1099-G and answers to frequently asked questions, visit http://dor.mo.gov/faq/personal/1099g.php. 

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