For all the information you need to e-file, go to www.utahtax.com
March 26, 2001--
If you're still waiting to roll up your sleeves and do your taxes, the deadline is only three weeks away.
But, nearly 200,000 Utahns already have refunds in the bank because they filed electronically.
News Specialist Jed Boal has the details.
Filing taxes is a lot like dieting-- it's a task better left for tomorrow.
But that April 15th deadline dash for the post office may soon be a forgotten ritual.
The taxman says it time to file on-line.
American taxpayers are running out of reasons to stand in tax lines.
With 23 new forms online, the IRS claims nearly all taxpayers can e-file.
"HERE'S COMPLETE TAX AND YOU START YOUR RETURN."
Janice Perry Gully of the Utah Tax Commission says Utahns are quickly clicking over to on-line filing.
Last year, 20 percent of Utahns filed on-line.
This year, 41 percent of state tax returns received so far have been transmitted electronically.
Janice Perry Gully/Utah Tax Commission: THAT ELIMINATES MISTAKES BOTH ON THE TAXPAYER'S PART AND HERE AT THE TAX COMMISSION WHEN HUMAN BEING HANDLE PIECES OF PAPER.
Right now, more than 4,000 Utah refunds totalling $1.7 million are on hold becuase of errors.
They were filed the old fashioned way.
The tax commission thinks e-filing software would have caught most of those mistakes.
Janice Perry Gully/Utah Tax Commission: I BANK ELECTRONICALLY, I SHOP ELECTRONICALLY, AND IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE TO E-FILE A RETURN.
There are several tax programs on the market. Each of them has a web site. Each is easy to use.
They range from $13 to $35.
You download or install the software, click through the questions, and fill in your data.
At the end you file a return and print a copy for your records.
If you expect a refund, it should take 7-14 days with direct deposit.
If you owe money, file now and pay on April 16th.
Regardless, many American will always push the deadline.
Half of all returns are filed in the last two weeks.
And half of those are filed the last day.
Janice Perry Gully/Utah Tax Commission: SO LONG AS YOU HAVE HUMAN BEINGS IN THE MIX, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PROCRASTINATORS.
In five years, the IRS hopes four out of every five Americans will file their taxes by computer or telephone.
For all the information you need to e-file, go to www.utahtax.com
