FILING TAXES BY E-MAIL; ELECTRONIC RETURNS GAINING POPULARITY NATIONWIDE.Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer 1999 will hold a new first for Dave Bierhorst. It will be the first time that the Moorpark father of three will file his family's taxes electronically. While some might hyperventilate hy·per·ven·ti·late v. hy·per·ven·ti·lat·ed, hy·per·ven·ti·lat·ing, hy·per·ven·ti·lates v.intr. 1. To breathe abnormally fast or deeply so as to effect hyperventilation. 2. at the idea of sending such personal information over cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. with the click of a key, the 38-year-old is comfortable with computers and thus feels quite ready to take the plunge Take The Plunge was an early evening game show that was produced by Thames Television and aired on the ITV network for one series in 1989, the programme was hosted by comedy actress Su Pollard. . Indeed, he tried Intuit's TurboTax last year and, after using the program, mailed in his returns. This year, he'll e-file. ``The idea was to simplify my life,'' he said. ``I did my taxes in one-and-a-half hours. It used to take me four to five hours.'' Bierhorst is one of millions of Americans expected to fill the Internet with electronic tax returns. In the first two months of this year, more than 1.1 million taxpayers had filed their returns electronically from home, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Internal Revenue Service. That's up from 942,000 for the entire calendar year of 1998. Now add to that figure folks whose tax preparers e-filed their returns plus the millions of people who will use the IRS' telephone filing system, and you'll get a total of 18.5 million people who have forsaken for·sake tr.v. for·sook , for·sak·en , for·sak·ing, for·sakes 1. To give up (something formerly held dear); renounce: forsook liquor. 2. the mailbox A simulated mailbox in the computer that holds e-mail messages. Mailboxes are stored on disk as a file of messages, a database of messages or as an individual file for each message. The standard mailboxes are usually In, Out, Trash and Junk (Spam). for efficiency's sake. That's up 13.5 percent from the like period in 1998. ``People are starting to lose their fear,'' said IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. spokesman Keith Kimball in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . One reason: Filing electronically ``is becoming easier to do.'' E-filing is becoming more popular as tax software packages proliferate pro·lif·er·ate v. To grow or multiply by rapidly producing new tissue, parts, cells, or offspring. and taxpayers become used to the Internet. By e-filing, taxpayers can get their refunds as soon as two weeks after filing, vs. four to six weeks via mail. Who are e-filers? They are taxpayers who use tax programs to prepare and transmit their returns through the Internet to the government. Even if they're not doing the return themselves, their tax preparer may be e-filing for them. Taxpayers cannot go directly to the IRS to electronically file returns. A taxpayer has to use a tax program to prepare the return, which in turn transmits it to the government and gets back a confirmation. Not all states accept e-filing; California does. But not everyone can e-file. People with complicated returns and businesses are better off with a tax preparer, the tax software companies said. The most popular tax software is TurboTax, which is sold by Intuit in·tu·it tr.v. in·tu·it·ed, in·tu·it·ing, in·tu·its Usage Problem To know intuitively. [Back-formation from intuition. Inc., the company that also markets the Quicken A popular financial management program for PCs and Macs from Intuit, Inc., Mountain View, CA (www.intuit.com). It is used to write checks, organize investments and produce a variety of reports for personal finance and small business. personal finance programs. As of March 7, about 775,000 taxpayers filed their returns through TurboTax - a 142 percent increase from the like period a year ago, the company said. This group accounts for more than half of the entire population of people e-filing from home. Intuit's 3-year-old WebTurboTax, which is an Internet-based service, had 175,000 filings as of last week - nine times greater than in 1998. As an Internet server-based site, WebTurboTax doesn't need to be downloaded. Taxpayers prepare and file their returns online. WebTurboTax is similar to the TurboTax software, but with fewer bells and whistles A slang English term for exceptional features in some product. In the computer field, it typically refers to functions in software that may be greatly appreciated by some users, even though they may not be necessary most of the time. such as TurboTax's extensive video help. It has text-based help. One of the newer entrants to the online tax business is 24hourtax.com. Launched on Feb. 15, the upstart service from FormIQ in Mountain View plans to grab a piece of the market share through its discounted prices. It charges $5 for a 1040EZ, $10 for 1040A and $15 for 1040. The prices include electronic filing for state returns as well. The site has had about 40 users a day, said Nick Varveris, the chief executive officer of 24hourtax.com. 24hourtax.com also offers a tax newsgroup newsgroup Internet forum for discussion of specific subjects. Newsgroups are organized into subjects (e.g., automobiles); each typically has several subgroups (e.g., classic cars, Formula One racing cars). where users can post questions. The company guarantees a response within 24 hours from one of the certified public accountants Certified Public Accountant (CPA) An accountant who has met certain standards, including experience, age, and licensing, and passed exams in a particular state. it has monitoring the site. Other tax programs include Kiplinger TaxCut, SecureTax and TaxAct. H&R Block and other tax preparers can also file electronically for their clients. The cost to e-file could be as low as $5 or as high as $45. As for security, the software companies say the information is safe. ``All the information transmitted between us and the taxpayer is all encrypted en·crypt tr.v. en·crypt·ed, en·crypt·ing, en·crypts 1. To put into code or cipher. 2. Computer Science - just like credit card data,'' Varveris said. ``It's maintained on our secure server. There's a firewall.'' ONLINE TAX SERVICES WebTurboTax (www.webturbotax.com). By Intuit Inc., the makers of Quicken software and TurboTax. It's an Internet-based service that's a simpler version of the TurboTax software. There's text but no video or help. Federal and state returns cost $9.95 each for 1040EZ, and $19.95 each for 1040A and 1040. The fee includes printing and filing a federal and state electronic return. For subsequent filings, the cost is $9.95. Free for folks who make an adjusted gross income of $20,000 or less. Kiplinger TaxCut (www.taxcut.com). By Block Financial Corp., a unit of H&R Block. It's free to prepare and file the 1040EZ, no downloading necessary. If you wish to download the basic program, it will cost $19.95 for federal and, when purchased together, the state portion will cost $9.95. Otherwise, it costs $15 to download each state. The deluxe de·luxe also de luxe adj. Particularly elegant and luxurious; sumptuous: deluxe accommodations; a de luxe automobile. adv. tax package, which includes extensive video help, cannot be downloaded from the site. You may buy it at retail stores for $40 or less. The deluxe package includes state returns. The basic software program (federal only) can be found for as low as $10, and the all-states CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). retails for $24.95. The first electronic filing is free; subsequent returns cost $9.95 each. SecureTax.com (www.securetax.com). By Universal Tax Systems. Filing a 1040EZ and state return costs $9.95; the more complex 1040 and state filings cost $14.95. The fee includes preparing, printing and electronically filing your tax return. Services are free for all active U.S. military and Oklahoma residents. TaxAct (www.taxact.com). By 2nd Story Software. Download the standard program for free, but deluxe will cost $9.95. If you prefer a CD-ROM, it's $17.90 including shipping and handling. Electronic filing is $7.95 per return for federal. Downloading the states version will cost $12.95, but electronic filing is not available. 24hourtax.com (www.24hourtax.com). By FormIQ. This new service charges $5 for 1040EZ, $10 for 1040A and $15 for 1040, state returns included. You don't need to download any programs since the service is Internet-based. For now, taxpayers can't electronically file the 1040 form. However, they can print it out and mail it. SOURCE: IRS, Daily News Research CAPTION(S): Drawing, Box DRAWING: (Color) no caption (Computer with human eye on monitor) BOX: ONLINE TAX SERVICES (See text) |
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