FEDS OFF TELEFILE

You Can't File with the IRS by Phone any more

By Michael Horne

Perhaps you got the pamphlet from the IRS in the mail. "Important News About Telefile," it read.
And what's the important news?
"Telefile is No Longer Available."
This is not very good news for those many people who may not have ready access to a computer but do have access to a telephone. Of course, you're not one of them, since you're reading this thing, but many of my friends have relied on filing their tax returns by telephone since the service has been available. Although the system may have lacked some of the features of filing by computer, it did offer speedier refunds than by filing by mail -- and maybe that is just what the IRS had in mind when it discontinued the service.
According to the brochure, "Telefile has been discontinued due to:
"Increasing costs of maintaining the system
"Fewer people using Telefile
"States discontinuing their Telefile programs
"More electronic filing alternatives becoming available."
The brochure then goes on to suggest we "e-file for Faster Refunds," noting that 68 million people did so last year. It does not at all list any options for filing taxes by U. S. Postal Service.
I have a feeling that many people who telefiled in the past, instead of becoming instantly computer-literate, as the brochure assumes, will instead file their taxes the old-fashioned way, by mail.
This would suit the deficit-ridden Federal Government just fine, since the refund checks for mail filers will sit in the Treasury's coffers that much longer.
[By the way, the State of Wisconsin continues to offer its version of telefile, and has sent eligible filers a postcard with a pin number for use with its system.]