IRS Concludes Successful Tax Season

WASHINGTON - With Monday's deadline, the Internal Revenue Service concludes a tax season marked by expanded electronic products and increased taxpayer service.

"By any standard, this has been an excellent filing season," said IRS Commissioner Margaret Milner Richardson. "Returns are coming in on time, refunds are going out on time, and we're using new techniques to do a better job of answering taxpayer questions. TeleFile service and our Web site are the most successful new products we've had in years."

TeleFile -- the paperless file-by-phone system that went nationwide this year -had received 2.6 million returns by April 5, more than its projection for the year. Standard electronic filing, in which tax return data is transmitted via computer modem to the IRS, increased by 7.7 percent to 11 million returns. This included 122,000 returns in the OnLine Filing program, in which taxpayers send returns from their home computers to the IRS through a transmitting service.

The Web site which the IRS opened in January has received over 41 million hits and taxpayers are currently downloading over 29,000 forms and publications daily to their computers. The IRS also offers a dial-up electronic bulletin board as well as a forms-by-fax service.

Taxpayers may reach the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.gov. The bulletin board is available via modem at 703-321-8020. Those with a fax machine may use the voice unit to call 703-487-4160 and request forms by return fax.

Through March, the IRS had helped over 25 million taxpayers through its toll free telephone, recorded tax tapes and walk-in assistance programs this year, an increase of 1.6 million over the first three months of 1995.

The IRS is also offering most taxpayers the option of having refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts. This service, which had been limited to electronic and 1040PC format returns, may be used by those filing a regular paper return. They just attach Form 8888, giving the necessary bank account information. Over nine million taxpayers have used direct deposit this year, including 1.1 million paper return filers

As of April 5, the IRS had received 67.1 million returns and sent out 46.5 million refunds worth a total of $57.9 billion -- an average refund of $1245.

1996 FILING SEASON STATISTICS

Cumulative through the week ending 4/7/95 and 4/5/96

                         1995             1996           % Change

Individual Income Tax Returns

Total Receipts         67,858,000        67,O93,000         -1.1
Total Processed        56,727,000        57,349,000          1.1

Filing Alternatives -- Total Receipts:

Standard Electronic    10,236,000        11,022, 000         7.7
TeleFile                  635,000          2,591,000       308.0
1040PC Format           1,253,000          3,871,000       208.9

Refunds Certified by the Martinsburg Computing Center:

Number              43,641,000          46,509,000           6.6
Amount of principal $47,426 billion     $57.882 billion     22.0
Average refund          $1087              $1245            14.5

(NOTE: refund data should NOT be compared to the "processed" numbers above, since those figures reflect Service Center processing, which is completed at least a week before refunds are certified at the Computing Center).

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