The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has officially begun accepting and processing electronically filed Rhode Island resident and non-resident personal income tax returns for the 2018 tax year.

The agency has also officially begun accepting and processing paper returns, but urges tax preparers and taxpayers to e-file. E-filing is faster, results in fewer errors, and provides the filer with an electronic filing acknowledgement.

In addition, e-filing is the only method available for having your personal income tax refund deposited directly into your bank or credit union account. (Direct deposit is not available for paper returns.)

Rhode Island Division of Taxation electronic filing

The Division of Taxation will accept the following returns electronically this season:

• Form RI-1040 Resident personal income tax return
• Form RI-1040NR Nonresident personal income tax return
• Form RI-1120C Business corporation tax return – C corporations
• Form RI-1120S Business corporation tax return – S corporations
• Form RI-1065 For partnerships, LLPs, LPs, LLCs, single-member LLCs

Preparers should check with their tax-preparation software provider to see if their programs are updated and ready for e-file.

Changes for filing season

As preparers and taxpayers start their filing season, they will encounter a number of changes, including the following:

A new schedule – Schedule E (“Exemption Schedule ”) – must be completed and filed with the return. On Schedule E, check a box for you, check another box for your spouse (if you ’re married) and list the required information for all individuals you can claim as a dependent. The completed Schedule E is used to help compute the overall number of exemptions on page 1 of your Form RI-1040 (whether it’s a resident or non-resident return).