COUNTYWIDE : IRS to Discuss Filing Taxes Via Computer

The Internal Revenue Service will hold a seminar Wednesday for professional tax preparers and members of the public who want to know more about filing tax returns electronically.

The free seminar on electronic filing will be held in Room 201 at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St.

Tax returns can be filed through a modem on a computer, IRS spokesman Chips Maurer said.

Until now, the IRS has accepted such returns only when a refund is due, Maurer said.

Beginning in 1992, the agency will also accept returns on which money is owed.

Only professional tax preparers who have passed certain tests and have had “an integrity check with the IRS” are allowed to file returns electronically, Maurer said.

The IRS may eventually allow ordinary taxpayers to transmit tax returns from their home computers, Maurer said. For now, taxpayers can pay certified tax preparers to file their tax returns electronically or they can take an already-prepared return to other institutions, such as Bank of America, that are qualified to file electronically, Maurer said.

Electronically filed returns have fewer errors, Maurer said.

In addition, taxpayers can receive their refunds up to four weeks sooner by submitting their returns electronically, he said.