YOUR TAXES : TAXES CAN BE YOUR FRIEND : Many Choose the Easier Way Out : IRS Says More Shorter, Simpler Forms Returned This Year

A growing number of Americans are filing simpler tax forms, apparently because the new tax law reduced or eliminated several beneficial deductions.

The number filing the long Form 1040 is down 4.2% this year, the Internal Revenue Service said last week. The number filing the “short” Form 1040A is up 7.5%; 6.8% more taxpayers are filing the simplest form, 1040EZ, than at this time last year.

“These figures suggest that many taxpayers who filed Form 1040 in the past may be switching to the simpler, shorter forms,” the IRS said.

The 1986 tax overhaul eliminated deductions for state and local sales taxes and two-earner couples and began phasing out the deduction for consumer interest. It also reduced writeoffs for medical expenses, and, for millions of workers, it cut or eliminated deductions for Individual Retirement Accounts.

Through Feb. 24, halfway through the filing season, the IRS had received 30.8 million returns--only about 28% of the 109 million expected to file this year. That is up 2% from the 30.2 million at this time last year. This year’s receipts included 13.1 million Forms 1040, 8.5 million 1040As and 9.1 million 1040EZs.

The IRS had processed almost half the returns and had approved refund checks for almost 8.3 million taxpayers, up 9% from last year. The refunds totaled $6.8 billion, an increase of almost 14% averaged $825, up from $793 at this time last year.