February 3, 2012

YOUR TAX REFUND COULD ARRIVE AS A DEBIT CARD

State Representative Chris Perone, who represents Norwalk in the Connecticut General Assembly, is alerting residents that their state tax return might be arriving as a debit card this year.

“If you are expecting a return from the state this year and you did not supply your banking information for direct deposit—you will receive a debit card,” said Perone. “I want to make sure that folks are on the look out for these debit cards. I’m concerned that some people might inadvertently think the debit card is just another credit card offer or something, and toss it away.”

The state Department of Revenue Services (DRS) announced earlier this week that all state tax refunds less than $10,000 will be issued as debit cards unless people requested to have their refunds directly deposited into their bank accounts when they filed.

Perone will be working to change DRS policy to allow people to receive checks in the future if they wish, but in the meanwhile he is concerned that people might not understand how to use these cards and could inadvertently be charged fees.

“People must activate their cards before they use them,” said Perone. “And there could be fees imposed depending on how they use their cards—please be careful.”

Please visit www.ct.gov/DRS and click on the Debit Card FAQs icon on the left side of the page or call
1-800-382-9463 for more information.

State Representative Chris Perone is serving his fourth term representing Norwalk’s 137th Assembly District.