State officials are “e-lated” almost half of all Iowans will “e-file” their tax returns this year. Renee Mulvey, spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue and Finance, says the early numbers look very good. More than 284-thousand Iowa taxpayers have already filed their tax returns electronically. That’s up 20-percent from this time last year. Mulvey expects 630-thousand Iowans to e-file this year out of more than one-point-three million taxpayers. She says e-filing helps taxpayers in several ways — foremost — in getting a prompt refund check.Paper filers may not see their refund check for at least 12 weeks. With e-filing, it’s more like two weeks. Also, only e-filing enables Iowans to have direct deposit of their refund checks. While there are benefits to the taxpayers with e-filing, Mulvey says the state profits too. She says it costs less to process an e-filed return than a paper return.Last year, about 479-thousand Iowans e-filed. Federal tax returns are due April 15th while Iowa returns are due April 30th.
