CONTACT: Stephanie Marquis, 608-266-2300
Department of Revenue Reducing Number of Income Tax Forms Mailed
In response to the continued growth of e-filing, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue will be reducing the number of hard copy income tax forms it mails to citizens. Last year, 80% of taxpayers electronically filed their returns, making Wisconsin a leader in e-filing.
“We’re here to help and serve the taxpayers of Wisconsin, and people are using technology more than ever,” said Secretary Rick Chandler. “As we look for ways to operate more efficiently and reduce our costs for the citizens of our state, we must take into account the continued growth of e-filing and it simply makes sense to reduce our printing and mailing costs.”
Last year, the department mailed a total of 313,130 tax forms to customers. This year, the department will:
* Continue to send tax forms to people who request them, but will no longer proactively mail tax forms to those who filed on paper from the previous year,
* Mail homestead credit tax forms to individuals age 60 and older who filed on paper last year, and
* Reduce the number of forms sent to participating libraries by 25% for the upcoming tax season, because only about 10% of the forms distributed to libraries are filed with the department.
The total cost savings for the agency’s printing and mailing reductions is $106,300.
Many individuals either use e-filing software, or go to tax practitioners who prepare their tax returns. Approximately 60% of taxpayers use a tax practitioner, and practitioners do not use paper forms, but rather use software to e-file or create their own printable forms.
The department offers free, secure electronic tax filing from its website at revenue.wi.gov. WI e -file is available 24/7 and the program offers Wisconsin fill-in tax forms that perform the math to help prevent errors when you prepare your tax return. You will get an acknowledgement that your tax return has been received, plus your refund can be deposited directly into a savings or checking account.
Wisconsin is joining many other revenue agencies which no longer mail tax forms including the Internal Revenue Service and the revenue departments in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
Wisconsin Department of Revenue
Customer Service to Order Forms: 608-266-1961
