ANCHOR LEAD IN:
JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, THE I-R-S ANNOUNCED IT WAS GOING TO BE A
'KINDER, GENTLER' ORGANIZATION, MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS
OF TAX PAYERS. NOW, IT SAYS, IT'S PUTTING YOUR MONEY WHERE ITS
MOUTH IS…
THIS YEAR, THE I-R-S IS OFFERING A BRAND NEW WAY TO HELP
CONSUMERS SAVE MORE OF THEIR REFUND MONEY. UNCLE SAM
WANTS YOU TO CONSIDER SPLITTING YOUR TAX REFUND…
HERE'S __WITH A HEADS UP.

TRACK ONE Length: 08
NOBODY REALLY LIKES PAYING TAXES. BUT A NICE REFUND CAN MAKE
UP FOR THE PAIN. FOR JIM WANG, REFUNDS GOT HIM STARTED ON A
SAVINGS PLAN…

SOT
KEY @ : 09 Jim Wang, Splitting his Tax Refund
"That was a great way for me to start the whole ROTH contribution process with a
nice chunk of change that I've already pre-saved."

TRACK TWO Length: 03
UNFORTUNATELY, SAVING ISN'T EVERYONE'S PRIORITY…

SOT
KEY @ : 20 Jim Wang, Splitting His Tax Refund
"If someone gets a really big check, they think, oh, well now I can get that flat screen TV that I've always wanted."

TRACK THREE Length:16
THE I-R-S WANTS TO HELP YOU MANAGE THAT REFUND WISELY. THIS
YEAR, IT'S OFFERING THE SPLIT REFUND DIRECT DEPOSIT. IT ALLOWS
TAX PAYERS TO HAVE THEIR REFUNDS PUT INTO AS MANY AS THREE
DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS.
YOU MIGHT PUT SOME INTO YOUR REGULAR SAVINGS ACCOUNT, SOME
INTO AN I-R-A AND SOME INTO CHECKING.

SOT
KEY @ : 45 Commissioner Rich Morgante, IRS Wage and Investment Division
"You simply need to file a Form 88-88 with your return, and indicate the
amounts, the bank routing information and your account number on that form."

TRACK FOUR Length: 08
WITH THE MONEY SPLIT UP, EXPERTS SAY YOU'RE LESS LIKELY TO
SPEND IT ALL AT ONCE. BANKRATE'S KAY BELL LIKES THE IDEA, BUT SAYS TAXPAYERS HAVE TO BE CAREFUL.

SOT
KEY @ : 1:02 Kay Bell, Bankrate Reporter
CLIENT NOTE: SEE SOURCE INFO
"If you mess up a number, transpose a number, it can send it to a wrong account.
It can send it to a non-existent account. And it means you might not get your
refund money quickly."

TRACK FIVE Length: 18
BELL SAYS MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE 'SPLIT REFUND' BOX ON ALL
PAGES OF YOUR 1040 FORM…
ONLY DEPOSIT MONEY INTO AN EXISTING ACCOUNT ALWAYS PUT YOUR ACCOUNTS IN YOUR ORDER OF PREFERENCE, IN CASE YOUR REFUND IS LESS THAN YOU COUNTED ON…IF IT IS, YOUR LAST CHOICE IS THE ONE IMPACTED. JIM WANG IS SOLD ON THE IDEA.

SOT
NO KEY
"It's fast and it's another step that you can't mess up on your own."

ANCHOR TAG:
Source: IRS…see source info for details
THE I-R-S ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE SO BE
ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT SENDING YOUR DEPOSIT TO
SOMEONE ELSE'S ACCOUNT OR YOU'LL HAVE TO TAKE IT UP WITH THE
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION IN QUESTION.
IF YOU'RE FILING A JOINT RETURN SOME BANKS WILL ACCEPT IT INTO A
SINGLE ACCOUNT BUT IT'S UP TO THE BANK'S DESCRETION…SO DOUBLE CHECK

SOURCE LIST
This information may be posted on your website at the bottom of the
NewsProNet script if your station has an extended license that includes your
Web property.

Rich Morgante
Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division
IRS Headquarters
Richard J. Morgante was named Commissioner of the Wage and Investment
(W&I) Division in 2005. He began his IRS career in 1975 as a Taxpayer Service
Representative in Syracuse, N.Y. He has held executive positions on the local
level in Los Angeles and New Orleans, and on the national level, where he has
served as director for economic analysis, budget director, director of
management and finance in the Small Business/Self Employed Division and
deputy commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division before
becoming deputy commissioner of W&I in June 2004.

Kay Bell
Kay Bell edits and manages the tax component of Bankrate.com. Her blog, Don't
Mess with Taxes, has been named one the Internet's 10 best tax sites. In
November, 2006, Bell was named to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), a
group of volunteers dedicated to helping the IRS identify ways to improve
customer service and satisfaction. TAP is a Federal Advisory Committee
established under the authority of the Department of the Treasury.

ADDITIONAL SOURCE INFORMATION
FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The additional information provided below is for client-station use only. This private contact information cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your
Website. It is for internal station use only. It is provided
to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you may have and to help you localize a story. Thank you.

Rich Morgante
Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division
IRS Headquarters
1111 Constitution Avenue
Washington, DC
C/O John Lipold, Media Relations
John.A.Lipold@irs.gov
202-622-4000

Kay Bell
3613 Josh Lane
Austin, Texas
512-795-2328
Skbell1@gmail.com

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR SOT AFTER TRACK 4:
The bottom line is that if a taxpayer enters the wrong routing or account numbers and the deposit goes into the wrong account, the taxpayer will have to work with the financial institution to recover the funds. IRS cannot assume responsibility for taxpayer error. (On the other hand, of course, the IRS WILL correct any error made by the agency.) Taxpayers should double and triple check their routing and account numbers to prevent an error.
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=164570,00.html
What will happen if I enter an incorrect routing or account number?
Be very careful entering your account and routing numbers. IRS will handle account or routing number errors on split refunds the same as for regular direct
deposits and mistakes can result in several different scenarios.
For example, if:
o You omit a digit in the account or routing number of an account and the number
does not pass IRS' validation check, IRS will send you a paper check for the
entire refund;

o You incorrectly enter an account or routing number and your designated
financial institution rejects and returns the deposit to IRS, IRS will issue a paper
check for that portion of your refund; or

o You incorrectly enter an account or routing number that belongs to someone
else and your designated financial institution accepts the deposit, you must work directly with the respective financial institution to recover your funds.

IRS assumes no responsibility for taxpayer error. Please, verify your account and routing numbers with your financial institution and double check the accuracy of the numbers you enter on your return.
How can I ensure my refund is deposited as I designate?

First, check with your financial institution to ensure they will accept a direct deposit for the type of account you are designating. Some financial institutions will accept direct deposits for some types of accounts, but not others.

Second, ensure you have the correct account and routing numbers for the
account - ask your financial institution if you are unsure - and double check the accuracy of the numbers you enter on your tax return. An incorrect or transposed number could result in your financial institution rejecting the deposit, or worse, depositing your refund into someone else's account.

Third, double check your return to ensure you have not made math or other
errors that could increase or decrease the actual amount of your refund.
IRS recommends electronic filing for the most error-free return.

What if I entered the correct account and routing numbers, but IRS made an
error in depositing my refund?
IRS will correct any agency errors. Contact an IRS customer service representative by calling 1-800-829-1040.

If I split my refund, can I still use Where's My Refund? to check my refund
status?

Yes, you can check the status of a split refund using the Where's My Refund? feature available on IRS.gov or by calling IRS' Refund Hotline at 1-800-829-1954. Where's My Refund? will include a message confirming that your refund was split. It will not specify the amount deposited into each account, but it will tell you the estimated date of the deposits and, if IRS adjusted the amount of your refund for math errors, etc., will tell you the amount of the adjustment.