The Montana Department of Revenue has an important message to income tax filers: Keep your mailing address current with the department.

This is especially true for anyone filing a Montana income tax return for the first time. That’s because the department sends refunds to first-time filers only as paper checks – not by direct deposit – due to our security measures to combat fraud. And, the Post Office will not forward your refund check to your new address.

That means that if the department has an incorrect address, your refund could be delayed.

Other taxpayers who change their address should also keep the department updated, because the department may attempt to contact you by mail if there are questions about your filing.

Changing your address with the Montana Department of Revenue is easy. You can download a change-of-address form at MTRevenue.gov or request one from our Call Center at (406) 444-6900.

Montanans who haven’t filed state returns in three years or more – those who last filed in 2017 or earlier – will also receive any refund on a paper check.

In 2019, more than 4,000 state income tax refund checks were returned to the department because of incorrect addresses before eventually finding their rightful owners.

Remember, it could take up to 90 days to receive your refund. To check on yours, go to MTRevenue.gov.