Frequent Concerns or "Myths" Regarding E-Filing

If you've never filed electronically, you may have concerns about e-filing your taxes. This article will hopefully debunk some of those concerns.

1. How Secure is My Information? - The IRS specifies encryption which any company that provides e-filing service (online software, tax preparer, etc) must follow. This encryption is designed to keep taxpayer information secure when transmitting to the IRS. With that said, are electronically transmitted returns more vulnerable to cyber attack or hacking? The fact of the matter is, even when a return is printed and mailed by a taxpayer, the information in that return is input into IRS servers, so if a cyber attack were to target the US Treasury, mailed returns are just as susceptible to theft as e-filed returns.
2. Misplaced Return - Perhaps you're concerned that your return may get not get filled properly or misplaced. Not to worry – the IRS typically sends an acceptance confirmation within 48 hours of filing. We will post this information to a users account and notify them by email letting them know that their tax return has been accepted. Even more importantly, you will be notified of any errors in your return and you will be allowed an opportunity to correct it.
3. Having to Pay Right Away - E-filing is simply the transmission of a tax return, it does not require a payment although payments can be included with the transmission when using our software. When you transmit your return electronically you are free to mail a tax payments any time on or before the final due date (usually April 15). This way, you can file early and pay your tax bill on your schedule.
4. My Refund Speed - By e-filing, your return is likely to arrive faster than if mailed. The IRS is also able to process returns without some of the delays caused by the IRS, manually entering the information, when processing a mailed paper return. This may allow you to get your money even faster.
5. Likelihood of an Audit - Those who transmit an electronic tax return are no more or less likely to be audited than those who file a paper return. Since e-filing tends to minimize the number of errors versus paper filing, it is possible that it may decrease the likelihood that the IRS flags your return for a follow-up.
6. My Return is Too Complicated - Our tax software has evolved to handle increasingly complicated returns. Our system helps taxpayers avoid calculation mistakes (a common reason that tax returns are rejected) and can easily handle most complicated tax situations.
7. Technology is New - Some people still worry that the e-filing system is too new and are postponing using it. As of January 2015, over 1.3 billion returns have been e-filed. As millions have already discovered, e-filing is a dependable, easy, and secure way to file taxes.

Looking for more reasons why you should e-file your tax return this year? See our article on Why You Should E-file.

Q&A: Do you have to mail anything after e-filing?

In most cases, taxpayers are not required to mail any documents to the IRS when filing electronically. The idea behind filing electronically is to help reduce the amount of paperwork, the number of filing errors and the wait time for processing returns and potential tax refund. If you owe taxes, you can make an electronic payment from your checking account, credit card, or enroll in the Treasury's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

Although taxpayers usually don't need to send any printed paperwork in to the IRS when e-filing, all taxpayers should retain hard copies of forms such as a W-2 or 1099 for their records.