(Archived Content)
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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While nobody likes paying taxes, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have been working to make the burden of paying taxes a little easier. E-filing and electronic services offered on IRS.gov are seeing big increases this year. Taxpayers can use these services and follow other simple steps to help make tax time easier:
File Returns Electronically. IRS e-file is the fastest, most accurate and a secure way to file a tax return. If a taxpayer is due a refund, the waiting time for e-filers is half that of paper filers. Some taxpayers may qualify for the Free File service accessed through IRS.gov.
Through April 2, e-filing remains well ahead of last year’s pace. It continues to show strong growth in several areas:
- Overall e-filing reached 48.5 million, which is more than 5 million ahead of last year’s pace.
- Home computer filers submitted more than 11 million returns, an increase of 21.3 percent from last year.
- Tax professionals filed more than 34.2 million returns electronically, a 13.7 percent increase from last year.
Free File. Millions of taxpayers can go right now to www.IRS.gov and file and pay their taxes electronically for free. Free File is an easy, fast and secure way for citizens to file taxes and will also allow Americans to get refunds in half the time. The efficiency of filing electronically saves both taxpayers and the IRS time and money.
- Through April 2, the Free File program topped 2.7 million returns, a 23 percent increase from last year. Free File, a free e-filing service offered by private companies, can be accessed by visiting IRS.gov.
In February 2002, President Bush proposed free online tax filing as one of his E-Government initiatives. In 2003, the Treasury Department, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched the new Free File Web site featuring private-sector partners that allow most taxpayers to prepare and file their taxes online for free. Treasury, OMB and IRS made this possible through a public-private partnership with a consortium of tax software companies, the Free File Alliance, LLC
Proposal to Extend Filing Deadline. To encourage taxpayers to file their returns electronically, the President’s FY 05 Budget includes a proposal to extend the filing deadline by 15 days for all taxpayers who file electronically, including those eligible for Free File. The proposal is pending in Congress.
Visit the IRS Online. The IRS Web site, IRS.gov, had more than 4.5 billion hits in 2003. Anyone with Internet access can download tax forms, instructions and publications as well as tax law information and answers to frequently-asked tax questions. 1040 Central, a special section of IRS.gov created this year, offers information specifically tailored to individual filers.
Use Where's My Refund? If a taxpayer wants to know whether his or her refund has been processed or when the refund will be mailed or directly deposited, Where's My Refund? has the answers. So far this filing season, taxpayers have used this free service more than 16.8 million times through early April. Where's My Refund? is available on IRS.gov.
Check the Child Tax Credit. Taxpayers who claim the Child Tax Credit this year must remember to reduce it by the amount of the advance Child Tax Credit payment received in 2003. Through early April, taxpayers have made 9.6 million visits to IRS.gov to double-check the advance payment amounts they received last year.
Corporations can File Returns Electronically. The Treasury Department introduced software in the first quarter of 2004 that enables corporations to file their tax returns electronically. This modernized platform will improve the IRS' customer service and save significant corporate resources, allowing businesses to allocate more resources for investment to create jobs and boost the economy. This program builds on the highly successful Free File program, in which over 2.7 million individual tax filers took advantage in 2003.
Apply for an “Employer Identification Number” Online. Small businesses can now apply online for their “Employer Identification Number,” which they need to file their returns or open bank accounts. It used to take weeks for businesses to get these numbers, now they can get them in real-time over internet, saving valuable time and helping new businesses focus on creating business value instead of paperwork.
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America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's policies are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation.