Corporations embrace tax e-filing

More than 12,500 of the nation's largest corporations have electronically filed their 2005 corporate tax returns, the IRS said. The tax agency had required that very large corporate taxpayers e-file for the first time this year, starting with their 2005 returns.

Other corporations that were not required to also filed their returns electronically for a total of more than 500,000 companies. The extended deadline for filing these returns was last week.

"This is a significant milestone in the IRS' modernization efforts that will pay dividends for years to come," said Deborah Nolan, commissioner of the IRS Large and Mid-Size Business Division.

The collaboration with taxpayers, practitioners and software developers let IRS develop a system to process large volumes of very complex returns and develop rules to facilitate taxpayers' ability to comply with the mandate. The IRS processed this volume of very complex returns and accepted and acknowledged receipt within its 24-hour turn-around standard.

"E-file will cut many months off of the audit process and will allow us to develop sophisticated analytical tools to better select areas of audit inquiry," said IRS commissioner Mark Everson.

Large corporations in various industries, including financial services, pharmaceuticals, automobile manufacturing, energy and communications, all e-filed. Nearly all of these taxpayers used commercial software to prepare their returns. About 400 taxpayers transmitted the return themselves.

The electronic filing requirements will be expanded to include tax year 2006 returns of corporations with $10 million or more in total assets that file 250 or more returns a year. E-file has been available to corporations since 2004.

Mary Mosquera is a staff writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.