The 2021 tax season is taking on a new character as efiles from paid preparers continue to grow over the year-ago period. After being 7.6-percent ahead of the 2020-pace in the prior report from the Internal Revenue Service, the total for the period, ended May 7, 2021, was 10.6 percent over the period ended May 8, 2020.With Intuit scheduled to report statistics for the third quarter ended May 25, the reason for the new-found strength of the pro preparer market will likely emerge. The likely factor is Intuit’s entry into fully assisted tax preparation this year.
Whatever the reason, there 126,777,000 returns filed as of the last report, down 1.1 percent from 128,204,000 year earlier.
The professional contribution brought the total efiles for the season to date to 118,664,000, a 2.6-percent increase from 118,664,000 in last year’s corresponding period. Paid preparers submitted 64,425,000 efiles this year, compared to 58,228,000 a year ago. There were 84,840,000 self-prepared efiles for the latest reported period, down 5.6 percent from 57,468,000.
The 84,840,000 refunds issued during the current season were 3.2-percent lower than 87,663,000 a year earlier.
