The IRS announced that more than 4.1 million New Ohioans filed their 2010 individual federal income tax returns electronically for the period ending April 28, 2011.
This represents a 10.4 percent increase over e-filed returns for the same period last year and exceeded by nearly 500,000 the total number of e-filed individual income tax returns by Ohioans for all of tax year 2009. Ohioans submitted more than 3.6 million e-filed returns for tax year 2009.

"E-filing isn't just safe, quick and easy - it promotes accuracy of returns filed. An electronically prepared and filed return has an error rate of less than 1 percent, compared to an error rate of about 20 percent for a paper-prepared return," said IRS spokeswoman Jennifer Jenkins.

Jenkins also noted that taxpayers with extensions can still file their tax returns electronically. "The IRS will continue to accept individual income tax returns via IRS e-file through October 17, 2011."

Ohioans are self-preparing and e-filing their returns at record numbers: almost 1,700,000 have e-filed their 2010 income tax returns electronically using personal computers. This marks an increase of nearly 10.3 percent over the same period last year, Jenkins stated. About 137,000 Ohioans both prepared and e-filed their federal returns for free, with brand-name tax software available on the IRS website, www.IRS.gov, through the IRS Free File program.

As in years past, the majority of e-filed returns were those submitted on behalf of individual taxpayers by paid tax preparers. This category totaled nearly 2,470,000 as of April 28, 2011.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that everyone can use Free File - only available at www.IRS.gov - to prepare and e-file their tax returns for free, by using either brand-name software or Free File Fillable Forms, the electronic version of IRS paper forms. Individuals or families with 2010 adjusted gross incomes of $58,000 or less can use Free File software. Free File Fillable Forms has no income restrictions and is available for use by all filers.