Request by Taxpayer
If you need a copy of your North Carolina individual income tax return, you should
mail a written request to:
North Carolina Department of Revenue
Correspondence Unit
Post Office Box 1168
Raleigh, North Carolina 27602
Be sure to include your name as it appeared on the return, your current mailing
address, social security number and the tax year of the return that you need.
Please allow 30 days to receive the copy of your return. You cannot request a copy
by telephone. The NC Department of Revenue must have a written request signed by
you. There is no charge for copies of your return.
Request by Taxpayer Representative
A taxpayer representative (such as an accountant, an attorney, a guardian,
or other designee) may request copies of returns/records and other tax information
from the Department so long as the taxpayer has executed and submitted to the
Department a Power of Attorney,
Form GEN-58.
Request by Third-Party in Possession of a Release Signed by the
Taxpayer
The NC Department of Revenue occasionally receives requests for taxpayer
information based on employment background investigations. Please be advised that
G.S. 105-259 specifically prohibits any employee of the NC Department of Revenue
from disclosing any tax information except in accordance with specific exemptions
listed under subsection (b) of the statute. In the case of these particular
requests, we may only provide the requested information, assuming it exists, if
certain conditions are met. These conditions are as follows:
- A signed release, which is specific in nature and directed to the NC Department
of Revenue must be submitted. NOTE: The Department cannot honor general
releases.
- 2. The specific release must be a clean, legible copy of the original that
(1) lists the taxpayer’s name, address, telephone number(s), and social
security number, and (2) is subscribed with the taxpayer’s signature.
NOTE: While a faxed copy of a specific release may suffice to initiate a
document search by the Department, the requesting investigator will have to
provide a clean copy of the specific release before any documents will be
turned over.
- The clean copy of the specific release must be hand-delivered by the
investigator, at which time specific credentials must be provided to Department
personnel. NOTE: No documents will be turned over to an investigator who does
not display satisfactory credentials.
- The specific release must be accompanied by a cover letter in which the
investigator sets out with particularity (1) the law under which the information
request is being submitted and (2) the issue or question which prompted the submission
of the information request (so that the Department does not incur unnecessary expense
in producing irrelevant documents).
- The Department will make efforts to contact the taxpayer by telephone to confirm
that he signed the specific release authorizing the disclosure of his personal tax
information to the investigator. This confirmation process will require the taxpayer
to supply sufficient information to authenticate his identity. If this
confirmation/authentication cannot be made, the copy of the specific release will not
be honored.
Request by Third-Party (Including by Subpoena)
Aside from providing records to taxpayers or their authorized representatives,
employees of the Department are expressly prohibited from disclosing returns/records
and other tax information except as permitted by G.S. 105-259(b).
All requests made by a third-party not authorized by a Power of Attorney (Form
GEN-58) must contain sufficient detail (see below) and must state the
provision of
G.S. 105-259(b) which the requestor believes permits the Department to disclose
the records. Third-party requests for records should be made in writing and sent to
the following address:
Records Requests
NC Department of Revenue
P. O. Box 2628
Raleigh, NC 27602-2628
Records Requests Must Contain Sufficient Detail
The request (or subpoena or court order) must state with specificity the information
sought and should include the taxpayer identification number (i.e., a social security
number or federal identification number), the name of the taxpayer, the taxpayer
’s address, the type of tax of interest, and the tax period(s) of interest.
Failure to include all information needed to process the request may result in a
significant processing delay.
The Department’s Response Time to Records Requests
Due to the large volume of requests received by the Department and the complexity of
the requests, please allow four to six weeks for delivery of
documents requested. If your request has not been honored or a response has not been
received within six weeks of the original request, the requestor may call our records
officer at (919) 733-5760 to inquire as to the status of the request.
