Electronic Filing Gains Popularity

The number of tax returns filed electronically and the amount of the average refund are both up compared with last year, the Internal Revenue Service says.

Through last Friday, IRS had received 13.3 million electronic returns, an 11 percent increase over the same period last year. The number of self-prepared tax returns filed electronically soared from 218,000 during the period last year to 624,000 this year.

The average refund so far is $1,823, up 14 percent from last year.