pros filing 55% of e-returns, but trail year-ago pace

refunds remain down in total number and amount.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

more people self-prepare their income taxes all the time, and pros still hold the edge in e-filings. but they’re losing ground little by little.

chart of irs filing data for week ending march 30, 2018as of march 30, the last week for which data are available, the internal revenue service had received 94.1 million individual income tax returns, up 0.5 percent from 2017.

the agency had processed 91. 6 million returns, up 0.3 percent.

the irs had processed 97.3 percent of returns received.

e-filings totaled 87.3 million, up 0.8 percent. of those, 48.4 million were handled by tax professionals, down 0.6 percent, and 39 million by self-preparers, up 2.6 percent.

even though the trends are heading in opposite directions, tax pros still hold the edge in e-filings, preparing 55.4 percent.

visits to irs.gov at 324.4 million are up 24.2 percent.

the total number of refunds issued to date was 73.4 million, down 1.1 percent, totaling $212.3 billion, down 0.6 percent. the average refund at $2,893 was up 0.5 percent.

direct deposit refunds to date totaled 63.9 million, down 1.3 percent, and $193.9 billion, down 1.1 percent. the average direct deposit refund at $3,036 was up 0.2 percent.

direct deposit was favored by 87 percent of refund recipients.