Puerto Rico Treasury Dept. pays $22M in taxpayer refunds
The Puerto Rico Treasury Department has received about 117,081 tax returns and has paid out $22.8 million in refunds a week into this year’s tax season for the 2020 individual filing cycle, agency Secretary Francisco Parés said.
“We’re satisfied with the response of taxpayers to this process, which is just beginning. This pro-taxpayers tax cycle must be analyzed well due to the number of credits it contains and the 3% reduction in the tax rate, on top of the one applied last year,” he said.
Individuals will benefit from a discount of 8% in the tax rate, by adding the 5% cut in 2019, with the 3% drop in 2020. Meanwhile, eligible college students will have the option to benefit from the American Opportunity tax credit retroactively for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020.
“Eligible individuals, parents or spouses, could receive a credit of up to $1,000, when combining tuition and book expenses,” Parés said.
This year’s tax return includes a work credit, with benefits between $300 and $2,000, while also including the option to claim the economic impact payments of $1,200 and $600 as refundable credits, using Schedule B3, to claim both payments or incomplete payments, he said.
“When claiming any of these benefits, taxpayers should be careful verifying the documents that must accompany the return. The agency is responsible for validating them, as required by laws and regulations. We’re processing the returns as a whole, not separating federal credits or refunds. It’s reasonable to anticipate that the forms with claim for credits and federal reimbursements take a little more time to verify,” he said.
The 2020 Income Tax return must be filed electronically on or before April 15, 2021. Taxpayers unable to file on time may request an automatic extension electronically, through the agency’s SURI electronic platform.
The extension request extends the time period to file the individuals return, but not the time to pay any outstanding balance that may be associated with the return.
