E-FILING SURGES 12 PERCENTWashington, D.C. - Individual taxpayers e-filed nearly 90 million tax returns this year, an increase of more than 12 percent compared to last year, a record according to the IRS.
Of 155 million returns filed, 58 percent were filed electronically. Individual taxpayers filed nearly 27 million returns from home computers, a 19 percent increase over last year.
On the business tax side, businesses e-filed almost 2 million corporate and partnership income tax returns, an increase of more than 50 percent since last year.
During 2008, taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $54,000 or less, or about 70 percent of individual taxpayers, had the option of choosing to e-file for free through IRS Free File, a partnership between the IRS and some software manufacturers. Almost 4.8 million tax returns were filed through Free File, an increase of 24 percent over last year's total of almost 3.9 million returns.
More taxpayers also chose to receive their refunds through direct deposit during 2008. The IRS made 66 million direct deposit payments in 2008, up 8 percent from the same time in 2007. Overall, the IRS issued 107 million tax refund payments in 2008, up almost 2 percent from 105 million refund payments for the same time in 2007. As of Oct. 31, the average refund for 2008 was $2,400, up 4 percent from $2,309 at the same time in 2007.
CCH OFFERS TAX RESOURCES FOR SMALL FIRMS
Riverwoods, Ill. - CCH has introduced two online tax research products for sole practitioners and small to midsized CPA firms.
Practical Tax Expert offers a real-world focus on income tax laws facing individuals and small businesses. It is a basic resource that includes practical examples, sample calculations, compliance pointers, comments, planning notes and other features to show users how tax principles apply in the real world.
Practical Tax Professional offers the same real-world focus on federal income tax laws and the important issues that practitioners face, but is more comprehensive, with more in-depth explanations and a broader range of practical examples, sample calculations, compliance pointers, comments, planning notes and other features. The explanations also contain links to CCH's Interactive Research Aids.
Subscribers to either also receive the biweekly Practical Tax Bulletin newsletter in print and online.
For more, visit www.cchgroup.com.
