By JOSEPH LOPEZ
Millions of people are filing their taxes electronically, and the IRS would not have it any other way.
Of the 4.9 million people who have filed their taxes so far, 3.5 million have done so electronically, said Jean Carl, communications specialist for the IRS.
Last year, 30 million Americans filed electronically, Carl said.
“It’s a goal of the IRS by the year 2007 to have 80 percent of all filers file by electronic means,” she said.
When filing electronically, taxpayers can have their tax returns deposited automatically into their bank accounts.
“At this point, 75 percent of the 3.5 million people who have filed electronically have requested direct deposit,” Carl said.
The IRS has stated that taxpayers who file electronically generally receive their refunds in half the time it takes for those who file a paper return, according to the Quicken TurboTax Web site.
And on Feb. 16, the company reported 1.4 million federal and 575,000 state returns had all ready been filed this year using its tax preparation software.
However, filing electronically still has not become a totally paperless process.
Taxpayers are still required to print out and sign form 8453-OL and mail it in to the IRS.
“Right now it’s still an imperfect process,” Carl said.
But the IRS is developing plans to make the electronic taxes paper free. And there is already a process in place that reduces the number of W2 forms, she said.
As for nonresident students, electronic help is just a click away.
The Utah State Tax Commission, www.utahtax.com, offers links to income tax forms for other states as well as federal and Utah State income tax forms.
The Web site also includes examples of how nonresident students divide their income tax among multiple states.
The site also provides links to online filing services which offer filing for free for people with incomes up to $20,000 a year and for those who use form 1040 EZ.
