This tax season, it’s the rare filer who still fills out a paper form by hand. But not rare enough, in the view of the state Department of Revenue.
State tax collectors want to gently shove that remaining 6 percent of pencil-and-paper-loving taxpayers from the 20th century into the electronic age. “My goal is to have nobody file on paper,” said Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter.
Comments
It's time to get rid of the sterotype of seniors not owning computers. Low income people yes. Just because I'm 63 doesn't mean I don't keep up with technology. I have a Mac Pro, a Mackbook Pro, a Windows 7 machine, two iPads, a smart phone, Kindle, Nook and a good old fashioned HP RPN scientific caluclator. I shop online, do my banking online (can't remember last time I wrote a paper check), shop online, etc. Quite a few people my age and older are very computer literate.
Yikes, brianric, is 62 now considered being a Senior Citizen? I'm only a few years away from you, I sure as heck don't consider myself over the hill when it comes to technology. I grew up with this is stuff too, maybe not from kindergarten, but certainly all of my adult, working life. And I'll stop using my old HP RPN calculator when they prey it from my cold, dead hands!
Spot on brianric.
Case in point, my mother is 74 and she has an iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Mac and the "dinosaur" desktop.
She does all her shopping online except in cases when she can't.
Sure she may be in her "golden years" but she would NEVER want to be known as "elderly"! :)
Since when is the Patrick administration interested in saving money for the state? This is a miniscule amount of savings compared to the bloated state budget. And does the state and the Globe tell you that your chances of Identity Theft are increased with electronic returns? Of course not.
Yeah! The administration shouldn't try to cut back on inefficiencies, that would conflict with my world view!
Wow, I'm impressed. If you had asked me yesterday, I would have guestimated 75%, at most, e-filing their MA tax returns. 94% is really great, much higher than the 81% who e-file with the IRS. I guess this just goes to show how people in the Commonwealth are ahead of the curve when it comes to education and technology. Would have been interesting to see how we compare to other states -- maybe MA is Number 1? And congrats to our DOR, good to know a state agency is doing such an excellent job.
Your guesstimate is not far off -- 80% of state returns are e-filed. 94% is a misleading figure as I explained in other comments.
@Matt78, Your explanation conflicts with that of DOR Commissioner Amy Pitter. But, hey, it's a free country.
I still file both federal and state paper forms because I often need, twice or more a year, copies of my returns, to prove eligibility for some benefits. A federal copy costs $57 per copy for them to do it. For that fee, I would rather do the taxes myself and have my own originals on hand to make copies from. I don't know what the state fee is. But until copies of my own tax returns are free, I intend to keep doing both federal and state by pencil and paper.
PDF?
You save it to your computer and you can print it out any time.
When the state lowers their ridiculously high electronic filing fee to something much more reasonable many more residents will likely e-file. My family does the computer taxes, e-files Fed returns, then prints out state and adds $0.88 USPS postage to paper file all the state returns. Why pay something like $15 to push a send button times 3?
How true. I believe Turbo Taxc is letting people e file fed returns for free but charges $19 to e file with the state. Plus paper filing helps keep the PO in business. ;-)
The fee is more from the companies that offer the tax prep programs trying to make money. They can participate in the IRS's Free File program, then charge for the state return to make their money.
They're offering a convenient service. If they charge $10 or $20 I would say its worth it. The time spent going to the library, picking up forms, filling them out by hand, trying to figure out what goes where on the form, then going to the post office, waiting in line, paying for certified mail, etc... It's worth more than $20 in time, money and hassle saved.
If they want to encourage electronic filing, why do they charge you to do it? Make it free! (to file electronically, from the same software that you filed for free from with your federal return)
At 94% rate, doubtful more people would e-file if it was free, that doesn't seem to be the barrier for the people interviewed in this article. I don't like paying the fee either, but if the Commonwealth can get the revenue from those who freely chose to provide it, they should. Free market.
No, it's only 80% of people e-filing. Check the pie chart. The article, especially the sub-title, is a bit misleading about this.
I will not efile with that fee. So efile the federal and mail the state, every year. $30 to file with Taxcut. Really? Typical way they do things in MA. It cost so much to deal with all the paper so lets raise the fee. If they reduced it or elimiated it all together, I woudl bet the state would get over 90% compliance and EVERYONES cost would go down.
Hilarious. Did you even bother to read the sub-Headline to this article?
Let's be precise: is that 6% the percentage of people filling out the form by hand, or is it the percentage mailing in paper forms (including both manually filled in forms and forms printed out with tax software). My reading is that the writer is talking about manually filled in forms. So the percentage that includes people sending in printed forms to avoid the fee may be higher. I agree with jpm; they need to see what can be done to get rid of e-filing fees. Doesn't make sense that it should be more costly to process electronically.
I'll be happy to file electronically as soon as MA makes it free.
It is free.
It IS free for all users to file electronically, both to the IRS and to the state of Massachusetts DOR. Mass DOR is actually easier and very easy to use. I first used it last year (for my 2011 filing), and it was soooooo easy. I used it again this year.
I used the free IRS "Free Fillable Forms" filing system, off the IRS website, for the first time this year. And it, too, was very easy. For both Mass and the IRS, you do have to input some W-2 information, but that doesn't take long.
I don't know why anyone still uses TurboTax or the other pay formats/software. If you're even moderately computer savvy, you can do the whole thing by yourself for free. I don't think the state or the feds do enough to promote the free filing version, however. Most people seem to think it costs money to file electronically; I know I fel that way, until I did a little research.
Here's the best incentive for e-filing: I filed my state taxes online for the first time, and I received my refund in - I'm not kidding - less than a week.
Yup, so did I, and I received my federal refund a few days later. Go free all the way for both feds and Mass.
@gottabekidding, @redglare2: Getting a refund, quickly or not, is nothing to be proud of. Tweak your withholdings, don't let Uncle Sam borrow money from you with no interest. I know some like the idea of a refund as a bonus payment, which is fine. For me, the goal is paying as little as possible, then owing on April 15 just a iittle bit less than when an IRS penalty might kick in. This is something TurboTax is good at helping with.
TurboTax Deluxe has free federal e-file and $20 MA file. Takes almost no time to print out the MA return, stuff it into an envelope, mail it. The take the 20 and get a case of Sam Adams. No decision here really.
I'm sure the Boston Beer Company is hoping you get a big refund this year. :-)
Similarly, TaxCut offer 5 free federal efiles, but charges $19 for state filings. So the electronically prepared returns get printed and mailed. Get it down to around $5 and I'll efile. I owe, so that makes a difference. if I had a big refund coming, I'd probably efile.
I do my children's taxes also.......
Totally agree with the above comment....it saves money
My Dad used to make us do our own tax returns, even at 15 or 16. He would check them, of course, but really not that complicated.
You don't need to use commercial software at all. Why does this article not mention webfile? You can file online, for free, using the state's own web site.
None of these people can read. No wonder they're having trouble.
I am well aware of the DOR Webfile. For me, with all my financial records already digital, and a long time TurboTax user, and with complicated returns, I am much more inclined to believe that Intuit will minimize my MA tax liability than the Commonwealth's Department of Revenue. And my time is valuable to me, having to re-type numbers drives me nuts.
<sarcasm>I'm sure the state will pass those "hefty savings" back to the taxpayers.</sarcasm>
Does the state still have a phone number to call to file over the phone? I used to do it that way before Al Gore invented the internet. It was actually a great system, super easy and fast, and would probably be helpful to a lot of people who don't do it electronically. Obviously could get expensive if you offer it in many languages besides English, Spanish and Portugese.
The fact that the IRS has ceded electronic filing to a few large for for profit corporations is what drives people to paper. The state return is how these jokers make money on the people who file free federal returns.
So what if DOR offers a free online return. It is far easier to fill out a paper return state return with the data from the 1040 ez close at hand than to slog through the state's online bog of a web tax form.
Oh, for the days when I could file a simple 1040EZ. Now that I think about it, not sure they even had 1040EZ back then, 1040A was the simplest. Man, I've been paying taxes a long time....
It doesn't sound like you've tried the Mass webfile system. I've done it for two years now, and it's really simple and easy to use. The feds have also now developed a free file process, which I used for the first time this year, but it's basically the tax forms online to fill out and e-file. Still, it's pretty easy, too, especially if you were going to fill them out on paper.
If the State, or the federal government for that matter, really wanted us to file electronically they'd supply their own electronic filing program, make it the best possible and distribute it for free so competition would be weak, and of course not charge for filing. Alternatively, they could split the profits with us and give a credit for filing electronically.
But Republicans insist that the private sector does a better job, that the government always is inferior, and would complain about wasted tax-payers money!
Unfortunately, your comment is part of the general misinformation and ignorance out there about the process. I used to feel like you do -- I refused to pay for software to do my taxes online, and I continued to do them on paper. But, both the state and the feds have caught up with the times and they both provide processes to file for free.
I don't know why they don't publicize their processes better or more widely. Maybe it's because if people all filed for free, they would put TurboTax and its ilk out of business.
For heaven's sake wake up. The y do provide free programs. The link for the State's is right in the column. You must be a tea party republican.
Why are you being unnecessarily obnoxious. Jeez.
At home we use Turbotax Delux. Federal efiling is included with the cost of the program.
State tax efiling it costs extra, over the cost of preparation of the return; so we efile the federal return, and print and mail the state return.
The state should work out a deal with the providers of tax software, if it wants to encourage efiling.
I file my Federal tax returns electronically, but not the state return. Why?
I use Intuit's Turbo Tax that was mentioned in the story. You can file unlimited Federal return electronically for no extra cost, but you have to pay $20 (actually $19.99) for each state return you file electronically. An outrageous cost.
So I print out the state forms and mail them.
If Turbo-Tax didn't wan't $19.99 to file my state return I'd send it in electronically. If the state saves so much money then it should be free to file on-line. I don't mind making life simpler for the state, just don't charge me for it.
I wonder if the 6% number includes nonresident taxpayers? There is no free method of filing online for nonresidents.Until filling online is equal to or less than a stamp, I won't do it. I am neither poor nor old. I make my living in technology, heck I'd file my return from my phone if an app was available.
Until then I'll look up my 1040 online, and start filling in the blanks. The nonresident form is the worse!
Just e-filed Federal 1040. And printed the Massachusetts return (20+ pages) from TurboTax. Will walk to post office and mail tomorrow. Not about to pay $19.99 fee to send electrons to Beacon Hill. I salute TurboTax. For first time this year, I imported BOTH sells AND BUYS from my brokerage account. For years, sells would import, but I had to labor intensively over many buy transactions to match the basis on equities. This year...wow! Also... hats off to my credit card company for finally, finally printing a year end summary with tax categories (Medical, Educational, etc) broken out. Wow. Big time savers. The annual tax chore is certainly moving in the right direction, though glacially. Now, if we could do something about the arcane, bizzare system that is our tax code, and replace it with something simpler, we'd save the country billions in lost productivity during April. Good luck everyone.