IRS Claims E-Filing off to a Strong Start

The IRS announced that e-filing is off to a great start this tax season. So far, over 38 million returns have been electronically filed. This represents a 5 percent increase from the same period last year, with double-digit growth coming from taxpayers filing from their home computers. More than 12.3 million returns were filed from home computers, which is an increase of almost 14 percent from the same time last year.

“E-filing continues to be the preferred way to file your tax return. It is the fast, easy, safe and more accurate way to file your tax return,” claimed IRS Acting Commissioner Linda E. Stiff.

As for the total amount of all refunds, $106.7 billion has been issued so far in 2008 with the average refund amount of $2,708, up two percent from the same time last year. So far this year, the IRS has directly deposited 33 million refunds out of the total of 39 million refunds. The direct deposit refunds were valued at just over $96 billion with the average amount of a direct deposit refund of $2,900.