St. Paul - Today, the Minnesota Department of Revenue received its 1 millionth income tax return submitted electronically. With the income tax filing deadline just over a month away, the department encourages taxpayers to file electronically to ensure better accuracy and quicker refunds.
“We want your income tax return to be accurate. If you e-file, errors are significantly reduced and you will receive your refund faster than if you paper file,” said Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans. “Paper returns can take thirty days or longer to process and tend to have more errors than returns filed electronically.”
Last year the Department of Revenue received 80 percent - or about 2.1 million - electronic tax returns, which was a four percent increase from the previous year.
While taxpayers can still submit their income tax returns through paper filing, e-filing offers added benefits to taxpayers. Over 90 percent of e-filers had their returns processed within five days, compared to 90 percent of paper filed returns being processed within 30 days.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue’s e-filing system also helps taxpayers cut down on errors that could delay processing and refunds. Last filing season, 18 percent of paper filed returns contained errors which delayed refunds. E-filing software is updated with the most current tax laws and will catch the most common errors leading to accurate, faster and possibly larger refunds for taxpayers.
“E-filing offers the added piece of mind that returns are protected by the Revenue Department’s state-of-the-art encryption technology,” added Commissioner Frans. “By e-filing, taxpayers are doing their small part to reduce paper while helping the department carry out its mission to deliver better, more efficient services to Minnesotans.”
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