IR-2009-23, March 13, 2009 WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are e-filing their Federal income tax returns from their home computers in record numbers this year the IRS announced today. As of March 6, more than 18 million income tax returns were filed from home computers, up 20 percent compared to the same time last year. So far this year, almost 52 million tax returns have been e-filed, up 6 percent compared to the same time last year. However, the number of people using IRS Free File has fallen from almost 3 million last year to just under 2 million for the same time this year, a reduction of about 30 percent. A number of factors could be causing the decrease in Free File volumes, including national advertising of other free online tax preparation offers and the elimination of electronic filing fees by some software providers. As of March 6, about 91 percent of tax returns resulted in a refund. This percentage however is usually at its highest at the start of the filing season because taxpayers expecting refunds usually file earlier than taxpayer who must make a payment. The IRS cautioned that year-to-year analysis of total returns file will be an anomaly this year because last year’s results include those returns filed for the economic stimulus payment. As the year progresses, the IRS expects to receive and process more individual income tax returns during 2009 than in 2007 but fewer than in 2008. Subscribe to IRS Newswire 2009 FILING SEASON STATISTICS Cumulative through the weeks ending Mar. 7, 2008 and Mar. 6, 2009 Individual Income Tax Returns 2008 2009 % Change Total Receipts 63,383,000 63,851,000 0.7% Total Processed 59,270,000 59,763,000 0.8% E-filing Receipts: TOTAL 48,795,000 51,793,000 6.1% Tax Professionals 33,419,000 33,349,000 -0.2% Self-prepared 15,377,000 18,444,000 19.9% Web Usage: Visits to IRS.gov 90,729,850 116,774,933 28.7% Total Refunds: Number 53,176,000 54,638,000 2.7% Amount $136.976 Billion $153.579 Billion 12.1% Average refund $2,576 $2,811 9.1% Direct Deposit Refunds: Number 41,665,000 44,744,000 7.4% Amount $117.808 Billion $135.613 Billion 15.1% Average refund $2,827 $3,031 7.2%
