IR-2006-39, March 7, 2006 WASHINGTON — In the first release of tax filing statistics this year, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that electronically filed returns have increased, led by a big increase in home computer use. Through early March, more than 39.5 million taxpayers have e-filed this year. Home computer use is up 16.5 percent, with e-file by tax professionals up nearly 4 percent. Out of 54 million tax returns filed so far this year, e-file represents 73 percent of the total returns. By comparison, 72 percent of returns were filed electronically for the comparable period last year. “The home computer is increasingly replacing the paper tax form,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “Both individual taxpayers and tax professionals are turning to e-file more and more because it’s fast and accurate.” Other new figures reflect that taxpayers are using other electronic options at record paces: Since January, the IRS web site had 70.4 million visits, up almost 6 percent from last year. Last week alone, the site had more than 7.2 million visits, up nearly 9 percent from last year. So far this year, 33.9 million individual income tax refunds have been directly deposited into bank accounts. These deposits represent about 76 percent of all tax refunds, up from 73 percent for the same period last year. So far this year, 629,251 credit card payments have been made by individual taxpayers, up 41 percent compared to 448,547 for the same period last year. These payments represent $355 million, a 48 percent increase from $240 million during the same period last year. 2006 Filing Season Statistics Cumulative Through the Weeks Ending 3/04/05 and 3/03/06 Individual Income Tax Returns 2005 2006 Percent Change Total Receipts 54,566,000 53,947,000 -1.1 Total Processed 50,153,000 48,957,000 -2.4 E-filing Receipts TOTAL 39,214,000 39,503,000 0.7 Tax Professionals 27,155,000 28,137,000 3.6 Self-prepared 9,756,000 11,366,000 16.5 Telefile 2,303,000 N/A --- Web Usage Unique Visits to IRS.gov 66,468,998 70,435,197 6.0 Total Refunds Number 44,931,000 44,544,000 - 0.9 Amount $106,517 billion 110.465 billion 3.7 Average $2,371 $2,480 4.6 Direct Deposit Refunds Number 32,721,000 33,887,000 3.6 Amount $86.969 billion 93.440 billion 7.4 Average $2,658 $2,757 3.7 Subscribe to IRS Newswire
