IR-2014-49, April 10, 2014 WASHINGTON — The IRS has received almost 100 million tax returns so far this year and expects to receive about 35 million more by the April 15 filing deadline. However, about 12 million taxpayers will have requested extensions by the filing deadline, giving them an extra 6 months to file. The fastest and easiest way to get the extra time is through the Free File link on IRS.gov. In a matter of minutes, anyone, regardless of income, can use this free service to electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension on Form 4868. Filing this form gives taxpayers until Oct. 15 to file a return. To get the extension, taxpayers must estimate their tax liability on this form and should also pay any amount due. By properly filing this form, a taxpayer will avoid the late-filing penalty, normally five percent per month based on the unpaid balance, that applies to returns filed after the deadline. In addition, any payment made with an extension request will reduce or eliminate interest and late-payment penalties that apply to payments made after April 15. The interest rate is currently three percent per year, compounded daily, and the late-payment penalty is normally 0.5 percent per month. Besides Free File, taxpayers can choose to request an extension through a paid tax preparer, using tax-preparation software or by filing a paper Form 4868, available on IRS.gov. Of the more than 12 million extension forms received by the IRS last year, over 7 million were filed electronically. [The filing season statistics table follows.] Follow the IRS on New Media Subscribe to IRS Newswire 2014 FILING SEASON STATISTICS Cumulative statistics comparing 4/05/13 and 4/04/14 Individual Income Tax Returns: 2013 2014 % Change Total Receipts 99,131,000 99,850,000 .7 Total Processed 93,103,000 98,170,000 5.4 E-filing Receipts: TOTAL 88,638,000 90,306,000 1.9 Tax Professionals 54,673,000 54,295,000 -0.7 Self-prepared 33,964,000 36,011,000 6.0 Web Usage: Visits to IRS.gov 261,597,162 235,961,315 -9.8 Total Refunds: Number 77,849,000 78,769,000 1.2 Amount $214.487 billion $219.936 billion 2.5 Average refund $2,755 $2,792 1.3 Direct Deposit Refunds: Number 65,020,000 65,326,000 0.5 Amount $190.752 billion $190.934 billion 0.1 Average refund $2,934 $2,923 -0.4
