The deadline for filing monthly state tax returns with the Department of Revenue has been changed to the 20th of each month beginning with the July return that must be filed in August.

The prior deadline was the 25th of each month. No changes were made to due dates for quarterly and annual taxpayers.

The Department of Revenue is contacting monthly taxpayers directly by mail to alert them to the change so they won’t be subject to a five percent penalty imposed on returns that are filed late, Acting Director Will Rice said.

He said taxpayers should consider switching from old fashioned paper returns to the Department’s free Electronic Filing (ELF) systems so they can file their returns early but delay payment until the due date.

In addition to this “file-and-forget” feature, ELF also helps taxpayers by automatically calculating taxes due and flagging any potential errors or omissions before a return is submitted, Rice noted.

“We encourage businesses to try ELF because it helps them get it right the first time and avoid the high error rate we’re finding in paper returns,” he said.

Avoiding errors is more important than ever because the Legislature, in addition to moving up the date, imposed five percent penalties on any bills the Department must send out because of errors on returns.

Go to www.dor.wa.gov on the web for more information about ELF.