E-Filing on the Rise

I suppose it’s really no surprise but efiling increased again this year. The IRS is reporting that 86.3 million US taxpayers did so electronically; that’s a 12 % increase over last year.

Why? Well, it’s impossible to definitively answer that question but there are a lot of contributing factors. The public’s increasing ease and comfort with using the Internet must have helped this trend along. Whether or not this comfort is founded in fact taxpayers and the public in general become more at ease with carrying out private or sensitive transitions online all the time.

Another factor was most certainly the stimulus check. It was made clear that on time, accurate filing of 2007 taxes was key to receiving the stimulus check. No doubt many taxpayers logged on to make sure that their taxes went through properly.

Availability is another factor. Sure, electronic filing has been available for years now but the availability of options and their ease of use must also be considered.

Some companies require a bank account of those that work for them in order to pay them electronically or via direct deposit. I wonder if the day is coming when the IRS will require e-filing and will no longer accept paper taxes.