MATT GOURAS Associated Press Writer
HELENA Accountants say that some Montanans could be paying too much in state taxes this year, and need to double check their returns against new information provided this week by the Department of Revenue. The Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants said it has convinced the Department of Revenue to release the new forms after the group discovered a problem that could cause people to pay as much as $700 in extra taxes. “It is going to affect a lot of people,” said Margaret Herriges, a spokeswoman with the accounting group. The error can affect people who earn more than $40,000, paid more than $5,000 in federal taxes in 2005 and received a federal income tax refund, the accountants said. The Department of Revenue said the problem is more likely to crop up as income levels rise. It estimated the correction affects fewer than 10 percent of taxpayers. “The worksheet is not in general wrong for the majority of situations,” said Dan Bucks, director at the Department of Revenue. Bucks said the agency has made a corrected form available on its Web site. It is also working with companies that sell tax preparation software over the Internet to fix the situation. Some accountants have been holding off on filing state tax returns, knowing the situation would likely be resolved. George Olsen, a partner at Galusha, Higgins & Galusha in Helena, said one group that could really be affected is those who file taxes themselves and purposefully have extra taxes withheld in hopes of getting a larger refund check. That group usually files a return quickly, and will now have to go back and get a form to amend that return, Olsen said. “We just need to get the word out to people so they can review the situation and find out what their next step is,” Olsen said. “I would just encourage people to review their state returns and make sure they didn’t pay too much tax.”
