As a result of new legislation, Virginia is making a significant change in the way that your clients may receive their individual income tax refund, the Virginia Tax Refund Debit Card. 

There are two options for receiving a refund, direct deposit and the new refund debit card.  Both paper and software versions of the individual income tax returns require that one of these two options be selected.  Requesting a paper refund check is no longer an option. 

While using direct deposit is still the fastest method for receiving a refund, the refund debit card offers a more secure and convenient alternative to paper checks and takes about the same amount of time as the refund check did previously.

 

When gathering information to prepare your clients' returns, be sure to get the correct banking information and birth date(s). When selecting direct deposit, always verify the correct banking information with your clients and do not default to last year's information. 

 

Please visit the Department's website for additional information such as, where and how to use the refund debit card, how to use the card for free, transactions with associated fees and the fee schedule, how the card works for joint filers and more.