Ohio Department of Taxation News Releases

News Release

January 4, 2000  -  Columbus, Ohio  -  Don't Junk This Mail

Over the next week, more than 5.3 million Ohio households will receive their 1999 Ohio Income Tax forms in the mail. The first booklets hit the mail in northwest Ohio late last week. Mailings through the rest of the state will continue through January 10^th.

New this year, refunds can be deposited directly into the bank accounts of taxpayers who file their returns by telephone (TeleFile) or electronically (E-File). People who choose direct deposit will get their refunds back in as little as seven days.

Just some facts, folks.

• The Department of Taxation is distributing three types of booklets (forms and instructions included) this year:

• Standard – covers the 1040 & E-Z returns. Mailing 3.6 million.
• TeleFile – sent only to eligible taxpayers. Mailing 1.5 million.
• Hybrid – covers TeleFile and E-Z returns. Mailing 200,000.

• 1999 tax forms filled fourteen semi-trailer trucks.

• Total cost of printing and mailing tax forms this year is approximately $1.76 million (printing: $940,000; mailing: $816,000).

• The average cost of mailing – first-class, per item -- is $.154 (we pre-sort extensively to hold down costs).

• Households get the forms first; libraries, banks and post offices, in the various zip codes, will have tax forms available ten days later.

• To protect taxpayer privacy, social security numbers are no longer printed on mailing labels (taxpayers are now assigned account numbers).

• MOST TAX FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE: http://tax.ohio.gov/

• Last year, we processed 5,189,352 income tax returns. We sent back 3,986,428 refund checks (nearly 76% of us get refunds).

For more information contact:

Gary Gudmundson, Communications Director
Ohio Department of Taxation
(614) 644-6903