KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tuesday’s federal tax filing deadline is not generating long lines at the post office like we’ve seen in previous years. Technology is changing how taxes are paid and refunds are received.
Nine out of ten people who filed their taxes before this week did so electronically. The USPS says this is the last year workers will wait outside the mailboxes until midnight to collect your tax returns.
Mary Ann Deming doesn’t like being called a dinosaur, but taxpayers like her are quickly becoming extinct. She waited until tax day to mail in a paper return. Deming is quick to admit electronic filing is the way to go. She doesn’t want that to be the only way to file taxes.
“I need the paper because I have to look at it and compare it to last year,” Deming said. “Make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
The day when governments mailed you tax forms are a distant memory for many. That’s because electronic filing costs less to process. Though some taxpayers still want the option to file on paper, they’re not as devoted to receiving refunds by paper checks. Many wholeheartedly embrace getting their money back faster electronically through direct deposit or debit card.
“I like direct deposit,” said taxpayer Susan King. “There’s always concern of somebody stealing it out of the mailbox.”
The tradition of tax deadline day being crunch time for most tax preparers also has changed as more returns are filed electronically. Tax preparer Jackson Hewitt says it’s busiest time now is at the end of January or early February.
“With electronic filing people have gotten to their preparers quicker, gotten their tax returns filed quicker, earlier in the season, so we don’t have quite the big rush at the end like there has been traditionally thought of,” said Stephen Lyddon.
None of this is good news for the postal service, which is seeing mail volume drop dramatically in recent years. Those getting refunds celebrate the changes while others who owe Uncle Sam money would just as soon mail it in.
The government says next year it will eliminate paper checks by providing entitlements payments like social security benefits only with direct deposit or debit cards.