Tax Filing Season Was One
for the Record Books

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service announced that its just-completed tax season was a solid success, setting new records for processing returns and conducting electronic transactions.

“Our employees delivered a splendid filing season,” said IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti. “We put America´s taxpayers first, processing more refunds than ever and for a record average amount.”

Among this year´s filing season record-setters were:

• Electronic filing. As of April 19, nearly 45.8 million taxpayers had e-filed, breaking the 40.2 million record for all of last year. Nearly 105,000 electronic return originators – up from 90,000 last year -- participated in IRS e-file, giving their clients the most accurate returns and the fastest possible refunds.

• Home computer e-filing. People filed more than 9.1 million returns from their home computers, a 34 percent increase over the total for all of last year.

• Refunds. The IRS has processed more than 77 million refunds, worth nearly $150 billion – a record average of $1,937.

• Direct deposit. Nearly 36.5 million taxpayers have used direct deposit for their refunds, surpassing the almost 34 million for all of 2001.

• Electronic payments. There were more than 626,000 e-payments, a rise of 8 percent over the same time last year. This includes 62,000 more electronic funds withdrawals and 15,000 fewer credit card charges.

• Tax processing. Workers at IRS Centers had processed more than 88.5 million returns as of April 19, the earliest that this total has been reached.

• Web activity. The IRS site at www.irs.gov remains one of the most used sites during the tax season, with 1.97 billion hits, a 28 percent increase from last year. The 78 million hits on April 15 set a new daily record for the site. Through March, the number of files downloaded topped 212 million, a 46 percent increase over the same period last year.

2002 Filng Season Statistics

Cumulative through the week ending 4/20/01 and 4/19/02 

                      2001           2002      % Change 
Individual Income Tax Returns 
Total Receipts     115,867,000    117,592,000      1.5 
Total Processed     83,621,000     88,544,000      5.9 

E-filing Receipts: 
TOTAL               39,457,000     45,778,000     16.0      
TeleFile (phone)     4,400,000      4,158,000    - 5.5      
Computer            35,057,000     41,620,000     18.7       
Tax Professionals   28,410,000     32,475,000     14.3       
Self-prepared        6,647,000      9,145,000     37.6 

Refunds Certified by the Martinsburg Computing Center:
Number              72,866,000      77,199,000     5.9 
Amount of principal   $124.884 b.     $149.562 b. 19.8 
Average refund          $1,714          $1,937    13.0 

Direct Deposit Refunds: 
Number              31,178,000      36,470,000    17.0 
Amount                 $66.479 b.      $85.390 b. 28.4 
Average                 $2,132          $2,341     9.8

Previous | Next

2002 IRS News Releases | News Releases Main | Home