With the filing deadline this week, the filing gains for 2018 tax season fell back. For the reporting period ended April 6, the number of returns received and processed were up .1 percent from the period ended April 7, 2017. For the prior reporting period, those two categories were up .5 percent and .3 percent from the 2017 results.The Internal Revenue Service received 94,139,000 returns for the season to date, up from 93,675,000 the prior year. It processed 91,593,000 returns through April 6, an increase from 91,297,000 in last year’s corresponding period.
In efiling, the number of returns were up .8 percent, 87,328,000, compared to 86,595,000 a year earlier, the same increase registered for the reporting period ended March 30.
Efiles by paid preparers remained behind 2017 total. Professionals submitted 54,283.000 efiled returns, a decrease of .8 percent from 54,720,000 in the similar period last year. That was a setback from .6 percent down in the prior statistical report. There were 41,616,000 self-prepared efiles, an increase of 2.2 percent from 40,738,000.