The 2008 tax filing season saw an increase in e-filing among last-minute filers, a group which traditionally filed paper returns, according to the IRS.
From April 12 through April 18, e-filed returns increased 28% over the comparable week last year. Overall, the number of returns received during the same week was up only 9%. The Service attributes a small percentage of the growth in e-filing to those taxpayers who were required to file this year only to claim their federal economic stimulus payments.
The payments also helped fuel a 44% increase in traffic to the agency’s Web site, which recorded almost 206 million visits during the filing season. In April alone, the site’s economic stimulus calculator had 8 million visits.
Source: The IRS, www.irs.gov.