Taxpayers eager to spend their refund checks may be contributing to a record number of people electronically filing their income taxes.
Internal Revenue Service figures show the number of people electronically filing their tax returns from home has risen 17% nationally over last year.
Of the 60.7 million returns filed so far, 71.5% were e-filed. In California, 4.3 million returns have been electronically filed, and of those nearly 850,000 were filed from home.
In the Bay Area region that includes Fresno and the Central Coast, more than 1.2 million taxpayers have e-filed, and one in five used a home computer to file electronically.
Statewide, e-filing by Californians grew by just under 12% over the previous year.
IRS officials and tax preparers say a growing awareness of e-filing and the relatively quick turnaround time for refund checks — an average of seven to 10 days — could be factors for people no longer using paper returns.
"People who have big refunds are usually the first to come in," said John Smart, owner of Liberty Tax Service at Manchester Center.
Of the 1,500 tax returns done by Smart's staff, a very small percentage filed paper returns.
"Usually it is people who are elderly or who don't trust computers that don't file electronically," Smart said. "But once they do it, and they realize it is safe, they don't go back to paper ever again."
Jesse Weller, IRS spokesman, said people are also realizing that electronic filing has an error rate of less than 1%. Paper returns have about a 20% error rate.
"That really makes a difference in getting your refund back quicker," Weller said. "And if there is a mistake, it could delay a refund for many weeks."
The popularity of e-filing and the different tax-related software options for home computer users have given at least one new tax preparer food for thought about her new venture.
Judi Plante of Fresno, who is in her second year of preparing taxes, said she has seen about a 10% drop in the number of clients.
"I think more people are going online or buying tax programs," Plante said. "This season has been a little frustrating."
But Plante said she still believes that not all taxpayers feel comfortable doing their own taxes.
"I think you have to have a little bit of numbers sense to do it," she said. "And some people don't; that's why they come to people like me."
For those who can't afford a tax preparer, the IRS also has several options, including a free filing service available through its Web site, www.irs.gov.
There are also several organizations with IRS-trained volunteers that will assist people with their tax returns for free.
Among the most active is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).
The association has helped 489 people in the Fresno area as of the end of February, said A J Dhali of ACORN in Fresno.
As part of providing free help, the organization is also assisting people to qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, federal funds that are made available to low- and moderate-income families at tax time.
"That has been our No. 1 push," Dhali said. "We had one family who got a return of $4,000."
Of the nearly 500 tax returns filed through ACORN, 260 qualified for the tax credit.
The reporter can be reached at brodriguez@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6327.