State tax refunds should start flowing Friday

The Department of Revenue hopes to begin sending out state tax refunds by week's end.
Secretary Tim Bafield said refunds have been delayed by changes made to the department's tax processing system and by icy weather that closed state government for several days.
He said about 683,000 people have filed personal income tax returns so far out of about 2 million expected to be submitted. More than 504,000 refunds are being processed.
Barfield said he expects returns being filed now will take an average of about 10 business days for processing, the same as last year. But the department website suggests people shouldn’t expect the 10-day return time.
For a paper return, the website says it could take up to 16 weeks for processing. Returns filed electronically will be handled more quickly, but the department says online filers should still expect to wait at least 21 days after they submit their tax forms.