D.C. joins ranks of e-filers

Accenture Ltd. has installed an online tax solution that will allow District of Columbia residents to file their city taxes without going through a third party, the company announced Jan. 14.


The district paid Accenture $1.4 million for the eTaxpayer Service Center, through which businesses and citizens can pay taxes online, the company said.


The service for citizens will be available by the end of January to any resident who filed district taxes in 2001. Businesses began filing through the service center last year.


The e-filing project is part of a modernization effort begun by Accenture of Hamilton, Bermuda, in December 1998 for the district's Office of Tax and Revenue. The project is scheduled for completion in September.


Washington's individual income tax filing system guides a taxpayer through the return preparation process with a series of questions to automatically complete the form.


Once the process is complete, people can receive their refunds by check or direct deposit. If money is owed, the taxpayer can pay online using a credit card or by mailing a check to the Office of Tax and Revenue.


Once the return is submitted, the taxpayer receives a confirmation number as proof of filing, and a copy of the return can be downloaded and printed for their records.

This online system speeds up the return process for citizens by automatically calculating taxes owed or overpaid, eliminating errors and delivering the return instantly to the Office of Tax and Revenue.


Washington, D.C. joins 16 states that provide direct e-filing, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. Some of those states are in their fourth season of e-filing, the Washington-based group said.