Stop Checking: SMS Solution Sends Tax Refund Alerts

The state of Illinois is using an SMS solution for mass text messaging to prevent the often-annoying ritual of taxpayers visiting their mailbox day after day to check for their tax refunds.

Registering for the service requires users to visit the Illinois Comptroller’s website at https://myrefund.illinoiscomptroller.com/ and entering your identifying information (including social security, name, and contact information). Once enrolled, the system will automatically inform you of whether the state has processed your refund and, if so, when you can expect it.

“The public [is] still going to have to pay, but I think we can make it a little less painful,” said Illinois State Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka.

Approximately 70 percent of taxpayers have filed electronically in the past few years. Direct deposit into the bank account is also becoming a more popular option for receiving refunds. Should the rollout of the new SMS alert program prove successful, expect other states to follow suit, bringing us closer to a paperless complete tax process.

Currently the text message alerts only apply to state refunds, but with the ease and relatively low infrastructure necessary for mass SMS services, it’s not too far-fetched to imagine a similar system for federal tax refunds in the future.

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