Filing your taxes electronically was all the rage, but now savvy taxpayers are questioning the move in light of highly-publicized, unrelated security and privacy incidents over the past year.
USA Today reports: “About 55% of taxpayers are expected to e-file this year, up from 51% in 2005. But last year, 36 million taxpayers or their tax preparers – more than a quarter of individual filers – prepared tax returns on a computer, printed them out and mailed them to the IRS. A mailed-in return costs $2.49 to process vs. 78 cents for one that’s e-filed, the IRS says.”
A 1998 law directed the IRS to convert 80% of taxpayers to e-filing by 2007, but security concerns are throwing a wrench in that plan. Earlier this year, an independent oversight board recommended giving the IRS a few more years to reach that goal.
Via USA Today
