Mass. is cutting down on mailed tax forms

BOSTON – The Mass. Department of Revenue said last week that it is trimming its booklet of forms and schedules mailed to taxpayers in an effort to push online filing.
The booklets, which will be sent to taxpayers in January 2011, will not have printed instructions or duplicate copies of tax forms and related schedules.
Electronic filing has increased greatly since it made its debut. According to department figures, less than 300,000 out of 3.4 million submitted state income tax returns use the traditional, paper forms sent to them in the mail. Roughly 2.4 million filers submitted online, while the remaining 700,000 printed out the online forms and mailed them to the department.
In making these changes, the department is expected to save more than $120,000 in printing and mailing costs.
“Electronic tax filing is far more efficient and accurate for both taxpayers and the department,” the state said in a news release.
The Internal Revenue Service announced in October that it will no longer mail paper income tax packages to either businesses or individuals in response to the growth in e-filing. &#8226