The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced that 94% of personal income tax returns submitted to date were e-filed. The Tax Department processed nearly 10 million returns during the filing season.

“Electronic filing has been and continues to be the most popular option for several reasons,” said Acting Commissioner Nonie Manion. “It reduces careless errors, eases the filing process, and speeds the issuance of refunds.”

The Tax Department has issued six million tax refunds totaling $6 billion for an average refund of $994.

The small percentage of taxpayers who requested an extension of time to file their income tax returns also overwhelmingly chose to do so electronically. This year, the Tax Department’s new Web File application allowed taxpayers to apply for a filing extension and pay the tax estimated to be due all within the same transaction.

Use of free e-filing options increases 52%

The Tax Department rejoined the Free File Alliance for this filing season to offer New Yorkers more options to electronically prepare and file both their federal and New York State income tax returns at no cost.

Taxpayers with household incomes of $64,000 or less qualified to use Free File software available through the Tax Department’s website, www.tax.ny.gov. More than 117,500 taxpayers took advantage of this free filing service, compared to the roughly 56,000 who used a similar free option in 2016.

The Tax Department reminded New Yorkers that it’s their responsibility to keep accurate tax records throughout the year that substantiate their returns and credit claims. Tax records, whether personal or business, should be maintained for at least three years.