Taxpayers Urged to E-File, Claim Their Refunds

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CERCA, the association for the electronic filing of tax returns, issued a statement today, Friday, February 4, 2011, reminding taxpayers that the IRS has opened electronic filing and most taxpayers can file their returns and get their refunds starting now.  

Due to very late enactment of Federal tax legislation, early this year IRS had reported that some taxpayers might need to wait until mid-to-late February to file more complex returns in order for IRS to have time to reprogram their systems.  IRS has more recently indicated that its systems will be ready to process all forms by February 14.  

For all of these reasons, the 2011 overall U.S. tax season inevitably began more slowly than usual, with CERCA observing lower filing volumes than seen in years past.  However, there's no reason for taxpayer uncertainty or waiting any longer.  

"This week most taxpayers received their wage statements -- W-2's -- from their employers, and they can now file their income tax returns and get their refunds started.   IRS opened electronic filing nationwide on January 14, and said 'using e-file is the best way to ensure accurate tax returns and get faster refunds,'" noted Mike Cavanagh, Executive Director of CERCA.

"IRS reports that the nation is approaching the milestone of 1 billion tax returns electronically filed over the years, and that e-filing is the preferred choice of most taxpayers, with nearly 70% of individual tax returns electronically filed last tax season," Cavanagh noted.

"With IRS E-File open, and most people now having their W-2's in hand, most taxpayers can now get their returns prepared and claim their refunds.  This is particularly important for taxpayers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other key credits that taxpayers count on receiving at this time," Cavanagh reported.  "The tax industry has been ready since the beginning of the year.  Taxpayers should feel confident to move ahead immediately," said Cavanagh.

"As IRS has said, 'E-file ensures people can file accurately and get refunds quickly,'" said Cavanagh. "Now the tax season begins in earnest," he said.

CERCA, whose membership includes much of the tax industry, promotes the electronic filing of tax returns, and provides informational and educational programs to advance adoption of e-file, and has been doing so for more than 15 years, from early in the inception of electronic tax filing.

SOURCE CERCA