IR-2009-99, Nov. 2, 2009 WASHINGTON — Individuals e-filed a record 95 million federal income tax returns during 2009, up almost 6 percent from last year’s total of nearly 90 million. About two out of three taxpayers e-filed this year; out of the 141 million returns filed so far this year, over 67 percent were e-filed, compared to 59 percent last year. Each year, more taxpayers chose to e-file their tax returns. While the total number of tax returns has increased 10 percent during the past decade, the number filed electronically has increased by 168 percent. Taxpayers who e-file from a home computer continue to be an increasingly significant segment of those who e-file. Year Filed Total Returns e-Filed Returns Percent e-filed 2000 128,430,000 35,412,000 27.57% 2001 130,965,000 40,244,000 30.73% 2002 131,728,000 46,892,000 35.60% 2003 131,557,000 52,944,000 40.24% 2004 132,200,000 61,507,000 46.53% 2005 133,933,000 68,476,000 51.13% 2006 136,071,000 73,255,000 53.84% 2007 140,188,000 79,979,000 57.05% 2008 153,650,000 89,853,000 58.48% 2009 141,376,000 94,980,000 67.18% Home Computer e-filers This year, for the first time, more than a third of e-filers are those doing it themselves from a home computer More than 32 million returns were e-filed from home computers, up almost 20 percent from last year’s record of 27 million. People filing from their home computers account for about 34 percent of all e-filed returns from individuals. Direct Deposit Refunds Almost 73 million refunds were electronically deposited into taxpayer’s accounts, saving the government mailing costs and saving taxpayers a trip to the bank. More importantly, these taxpayers received their refunds a week sooner than those receiving a paper check. These direct deposit refunds accounted for 66 percent of all refunds, up from 62 percent of refunds last year. Overall, the IRS issued 110 million refunds, averaging $2,753 per refund; direct deposit refunds averaged $2,997 per refund. Free File More than 3 million taxpayers filed their tax returns for free through the IRS free file program. This year for the first time, taxpayers could also file directly to the IRS by completing a Form 1040 on IRS.gov; 273,000 taxpayers used this new way to file. 2009 FILING SEASON STATISTICS Cumulative through the weeks ending 10/17/08 and 10/16/09 Individual Income Tax Returns 2008 2009 % Change Total Receipts 153,650,000 141,376,000 -8.0% Total Processed 152,759,000 140,718,000 -7.9% E-filing Receipts: TOTAL 89,853,000 94,980,000 5.7% Tax Professionals 62,932,000 62,786,000 -0.23% Self-prepared 26,921,000 32,193,000 19.6% Web Usage: Visits to IRS.gov 323,463,010 266,631,821 -17.57% Total Refunds: Number 106,200,000 110,071,000 3.6% Amount $251.827 Billion $303.069 Billion 20.3% Average refund $2,371 $2,753 16.1% Direct Deposit Refunds: Number 66,240,000 72,717,000 9.8% Amount $179.708 Billion $217.915 Billion 21.3% Average refund $2,713 $2,997 10.5% Subscribe to IRS Newswire
