The prior report for the season through March 27 was the first from the IRS that reflected the COVID-19-influenced delay of the tax season filing deadline from April 15 through July 15.  Total returns for that period, compared to the equivalent time in 2019, were off by 2.4 percent

Total returns for 2020 of 97,366,000 were down 5.9 percent from last year’s corresponding period. Total efiles were 91,448,000, a decrease of 5.6 percent from  96,844,000  for the compared period in 2019.

Paid preparers submitted 47,672,000 through March 3, a drop from 53,839,000. Self-prepared efiles remained ahead of 2019 totals, but the difference narrowed sharply. There were 43,776,000 for the period report this year, an increase of 1.8 percent from 43,005,000 for 2019 through March 25.

Refund totals also fell behind last year’s pace. This year, the IRS has issued 74,055,000 refunds, a decline of 5 percent from 77,925,000 a year earlier. The average return rose 1.6 percent to $2,878 from $2,833.

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind