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77% of corporations, partnerships e-file tax returns

October 11, 2015

Business tax filers are catching up with individual taxpayers when it comes to electronically submitting returns.

Electronic efiling tax returns computer keyboard

The Internal Revenue Service estimates that in 2015 around 77 percent of all corporate and partnership returns were filed electronically, based on filing data as of Sept. 20. That's 625,000 more such business filings than last year, or percentage-wise, a 9 percent increase.

On the individual tax side, slightly more that 86 percent of U.S. taxpayers had e-filed their 1040s through Sept. 25. That's a 2.2 percent increase over the same period in 2014. And remember that we have a few more e-filing days to meet the Oct. 15 extension deadline.

While the number of electronic business filers still lags individual returns, the IRS notes that at least it is following the same trend. All e-filings, business and personal, are increasing year-to-year.

And the 77 percent corporate and partnership e-filing figure is good enough to earn it this week's By the Numbers honor.

E-filing already required: Most large corporations and partnerships already must, per IRS rules, e-file their annual returns.

Large and mid-size corporations, generally those with $10 million or more in total assets, also are required to electronically file their Forms 1120 or 1120S.

And mandatory e-filing also applies to partnerships with more than 100 partners.

That's one of the reasons that, as the IRS table below shows, e-filing is becoming more common with all types of business filers.

Tax returns e-filed by corps and partnerships 2014 and 2015 per IRS data

Still, since electronic filing generally is easier for the businesses as well as the IRS, many are turning to it on their own.

Expanded e-filing partnerships: Large partnerships are largely responsible for the e-filing increase.

Although the actual number of large partnership e-filings is only 142,237 that figure accounted for an almost 16 percent increase from the same time last year. That's the largest percentage growth in all business filing sectors.

The added benefit of more partnership e-filing is that when the computer algorithm that can quickly catch some partnership tax evasion schemes is finalized, the IRS will have a larger group upon with to test it.

You also might find these items of interest:

You can find more tax news and tips at the Don't Mess With Taxes home page.

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Credits/Deductions
Disasters
Family
Filing and Paying Taxes
Politics/Laws
Refunds
State Taxes
Tax Brackets/Inflation
Tax Tips
Comments
  • Offshore New
    11 years ago Reply

    Great.
    People should be reminded that federal taxes are usually what be are concerned about when thinking about tax refunds. Also note that the federal tax return will typically be much higher than a state income tax return.

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