E-Filing Helps Boost Tax Refunds 10% Over Year Ago

Federal tax refunds are up 10.6% so far this year from a year ago, a result of electronic filing and larger tax credits for children, government figures show.

Individual taxpayer refunds as of March 31 totaled $95.6 billion, compared with $86.4 billion as of April 2, 1999, the Internal Revenue Service said. The average refund has increased 5.9% to $1,668.

The IRS said refunds are higher because of an increase in tax credits for children under 17 to $500 from $400. More people are filing their returns electronically and having the money deposited directly in their bank accounts, allowing for faster refunds.

Electronically filed returns have risen 17% so far this year, faster than the IRS had predicted. Self-prepared computer returns have nearly doubled, though they represent only 3.5 million of the 21.4 million computer returns filed.