Following your tax refund this year is as easy as tapping your phone with the California Franchise Tax Board’s iPhone app, “Refund.” The app is simple to use and can help you connect with the FTB whenever you need to this tax season.
The app is free on the Apple App Store, and requires users to enter their Social Security number, mailing address and ZIP code, and the amount they claimed in refunds this year. According to a privacy notice that appears when the app is downloaded, the FTB uses industry standard security measures to provide an encrypted connection between the user’s mobile device and their servers.
According to Jacob Roper with the Franchise Tax Board’s Public Affairs Office, the app was developed internally at FTB, as a way to better support smartphone users. “It puts the native refund-check system on the phone, rather than using a browser connection,” Roper wrote in an email, and can show taxpayers the status of their refund, “including a projected timeline, if available, for that customer’s account.” Roper wrote that the app was developed because the “Check My Refund” page is one of the most popular on the FTB website.
The FTB Refund app can be found at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/refund/id1058685411?mt=8.
