BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho’s individual income tax returns came in higher than expected in February, marking the first time that’s happened since the start of the fiscal year.
State officials have blamed the lagging income tax revenues on people not withholding enough from their paychecks after the state’s tax law changed last year.
Keith Bybee with the budget division of the Legislative Services Office says if individual income tax revenues continue to meet projections for the next few months, the boost would have the state ending the fiscal year with about 2 percent less than the previous year in total revenue projections. That’s an improvement from last month’s projection of nearly 3 percent less.
Idaho’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, and state agencies typically begin preparing their budget for each fiscal year about 18 months in advance. The lag in individual income tax revenues has created some headaches for lawmakers, who began the process of setting the state’s next budget in January, when tax collections were still far behind what was expected.
State tax officials have said that individual tax receipts would eventually catch up with expectations, as April 15 nears and Idaho residents file tax returns along with checks for what they still owe.
Individual income tax collections are nearly $321 million less than they were at this point last year. Corporate income tax, sales tax and product tax collections have exceeded expectations, however, coming in at a combined $105 million more than last year.
The Idaho Division of Financial Management says the number of individual income tax returns needing refunds is lower than last year, so far, and the average refund is lower as well. Last year by the end of February there were about 135,000 tax refund returns averaging $657 each. So far this year there have been just under 114,000 refund returns averaging $529 each.
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