Among the new IRS forms being made available electronically are those for supplemental income and loss, depreciation, wage and tax statements and farm rental income. Both of these changes will particularly encourage electronic filing by paid practitioners, who tend to deal with more complex returns and typically use a greater variety of forms, Rossotti said. Paid preparers have said they don't want some paper returns and some electronic. That's a legitimate point. The IRS is attempting to meet a goal set by Congress of having 80 percent of all tax returns e-filed by 2007.
Fees apply in both cases.
Beginning April 1, taxpayers can seek a filing extension from the IRS through the TeleFile touch-tone phone system and allow taxes to be deducted directly from bank accounts. Combined state-federal filing will be expanded to all states with an income tax. Acceptance of 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ forms from U.S. overseas possessions. Paid preparers will be able to write in comments supporting or clarifying an entry on a client's tax return. The Associated Press contributed to this report.