PROVIDENCE — Don't wait for your tax booklets to arrive in the mail — they may never come. Because of cost cuts and an increase in the use of computers to file tax returns electronically, tax officials are either cutting down on printed forms or eliminating them altogether. The Internal Revenue Service, for example, will not do a mass mailing of tax booklets to taxpayers this year, ending a decades-long practice. The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services said last week that it will no longer directly mail tax booklets to individual taxpayers. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue is cutting back on the size of the booklets it mails. The Rhode Island Division of Taxation is in the process of a mass mailing of tax booklets to taxpayers — but maybe for the last time. State Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said, "We're leaning toward not mailing booklets next year." It used to be that the arrival of tax forms and booklets in the mail heralded the start of tax-filing season. And each April, thousands of Rhode Islanders would bring their paper tax forms to the post office to make the tax-filing deadline. The post office on Corliss Street in Providence was the place to be: last-minute filers were greeted by live music, balloons and the beaming face of Postmaster Harry Kizirian. But printed forms and booklets are slowly disappearing — and an era is fading away. The IRS changed its policy because of the continued growth in e-filing, the availability of free tax preparation and filing options for taxpayers, as well as cost savings, said agency spokeswoman Peggy Riley. Overall, "We're not seeing as many paper returns being filed," she said. For example: •Out of 141.5 million federal personal income tax returns filed nationwide last year, 99 million — about 70 percent — were e-filed, Riley said, citing figures as of Nov. 10. •Of the 528,397 federal personal income-tax returns filed from Rhode Island last year, 364,061 — about 69 percent — were e-filed, Riley said, citing figures as of Nov. 5. •Out of about 591,000 Rhode Island personal state income-tax and related forms filed last year, about 388,000 were e-filed — about 66 percent, according to state agency figures as of Dec. 15. The Rhode Island tax agency arranged to have about 81,000 tax booklets printed and distributed for last year's filing season, Sullivan said. This time around, the number is about 35,000. By printing and mailing 46,000 fewer booklets, the state will save more than $37,000, Sullivan said. "With most people using preparation software and paid preparers, the demand for [printed booklets and forms] has greatly decreased," Sullivan said. If the agency eliminates the mass mailing altogether next year, it could save an extra $28,000 or so, he said. Tax preparer Henry W. Stad, of East Providence, said he is concerned about the impact that the change will have on certain groups of taxpayers. Stad is a local coordinator and tax counselor for the AARP Tax-Aide program, which helps older people and those with middle and low incomes prepare and file their income-tax returns and property-tax relief forms. "A lot of people still do their own taxes," Stad said. "For someone who's housebound ... And wants to do their own returns, how are they going to get the forms?" Mark Higgins, dean of the University of Rhode Island's College of Business Administration, said the change makes sense. "If you want government to cut out costs and reduce expenses, it seems like this is an efficient and easy manner to do it," Higgins said. The IRS in October mailed postcards to taxpayers who had filed paper returns last year, providing information on how to get forms and instructions — as well as free help in tax preparation, Riley said. If the state Division of Taxation eliminates the mass mailing of tax booklets next season, it may also send postcards to taxpayers to provide details on how to obtain forms, instructions and free tax help, Sullivan said. In Massachusetts, the state Department of Revenue is continuing its mass mailing of booklets this season, but the booklets will be slimmer this time around with no printed instructions and no duplicate copies of tax forms and related schedules. Of 3.4 million personal state income-tax returns filed in Massachusetts last year, fewer than 300,000 used the paper form the agency had sent in the mail. "While not quite yet an antique, the paper tax form is clearly headed in that direction," Robert Bliss, the agency's director of communications, wrote on the agency's blog. "Just as the day of taxpayers jamming post offices at the last minute to mail returns is a thing of the past, so too are paper returns." WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU Although some tax agencies are eliminating or cutting back on the number of tax booklets they print and distribute, the materials will still be available for the coming tax-filing season. You just have to do a little digging. FEDERAL: The IRS will mail forms and instructions if you specifically request them. Call toll-free at 1-800-829-3676. Forms and instructions also can be downloaded at no charge from the IRS website, www.irs.gov. RHODE ISLAND: Rhode Island tax forms and instructions are available online at www.tax.ri.gov, by calling the agency at (401) 574-8970, or by visiting the lobby during tax season at the Rhode Island Division of Taxation headquarters on Smith Street, Providence, near the State House. CONNECTICUT: Taxpayers who need a Connecticut income-tax booklet will be able to obtain one from a local library, post office or town hall in Connecticut, or on the state tax agency's website, www.ct.gov/DRS. MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts income tax forms, instructions and information are available online at the state tax agency's website, www.mass.gov/dor, or by calling (617) 887-6367.
IRS stops mailing tax booklets; R.I. Sending out fewer
01:00 AM EST on Friday, January 7, 2011
(7 hour YouTube playlist of clinical nutrition videos)
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MisfitsCafe/message/167
The Latest in Human Nutrition 2010 - Michael Greger MD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYLRKa9p0Rs
==> The Healthcare Crisis:
How to Get Off Meds with Your Doctor's Help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWJsGYIEG_4
* Transitioning Your Diet To Alkaline Foods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nOqnQ5fyAw
(\__/)
(='.'=) Dear Dorothy, Hate Oz. Took the shoes.
(")_(") Find your own way home!!! xoxo Toto
http://StumpySteve.com/forums
*********************
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.