Conserve Paper — File Taxes Online

Ahh, tax season is upon us. Depending on how much of a refund you expect to get this year (if any at all), you may or may not be happy about that fact. But, one this is for sure: It’s time to start thinking about doing those taxes!

Like many Americans, you may be thinking about filing your taxes online. Each year, more and more people go the e-file route; in 2008, 38 million people filed online, according to the IRS — a 5% increase over the previous year. Assuming that trend continues, millions more people will file online this year.

There are plenty of reasons why e-filing is convenient. For instance, many people qualify to file their federal taxes online for free, and free is always a good thing. I’ve also found the online tools that are available when you e-file to be helpful, and I like having an electronic copy of my return in one tidy little PDF file.

But, even if you don’t qualify for free e-filing, going the online route may be a good idea to help conserve paper. Tax returns are notoriously long, and have been getting longer. As of the early aughts, the “short” tax return form had become twice as long as the “long” form that was used in 1945, with 85 pages of instructions alone. According to the IRS, more than 200 million people file a tax return each year. I’m not great with math, but it’s safe to say that if all those people printed out every piece of paper related to their federal (not to mention state) tax return, that would be a whole bunch of paper.

If you do your taxes yourself and you haven’t e-filed before, at least check it out and see if it could be for you. And, if you use a CPA, ask him or her to e-mail your return to you rather than printing it out. Every little bit helps! And besides, who wants a file cabinet full of tax return papers? That’s so 1995.