Last Minute Rush Expected For Tax E-Filings In US

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, New York

02 April 2002

With only two weeks left until the deadline for filing of US tax returns on April 15, an increasing number of last minute tax filers will turn to one or other of the electronic filing services which are taking a dominant position in the private tax preparation sector.

The expected bulge in filings - 25% of all annual filing takes place in this two week period - doesn't worry the providers though: "When it comes to capacity and easy access, TurboTax for the Web is ready to handle the high volume of returns that still need to be prepared and filed before April 15," says Bob Meighan, vice-president of Intuit's consumer tax group. "TurboTax for the Web is here for all those last minute do-it-yourselfers who need a fast, easy and convenient way to beat the deadline."

Last year, 170,000 returns alone were completed through Turbo Tax in the last two days of the season, while Intuit's electronic filing system processed 466,000 federal and state returns received from TurboTax desktop products and the TurboTax for the Web service during the same 2-day period.

The number of visitors to www.turbotax.com climbs as the April 15 deadline approaches. In February 2002, 5.4 million people visited the site, more than any other online tax preparation service, according to ComScore Networks.

Says the company: 'Recently chosen by Forbes.com as "Best of the Web," TurboTax for the Web is the ticket for those taxpayers who still need to file. With 24-hour access, from any computer, just get ready, set and go to: www.turbotax.com to prepare and file your taxes -- even if it's at the last minute!'

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