EVERETT — It’s a pretty hefty windfall.
Taxpayers in Snohomish County could get close to $700 million in IRS refunds this year if history repeats itself.
By and large, the money comes back faster these days, with more people filing their returns electronically.
Wednesday is the final day to file federal taxes without seeking an extension. More than two-thirds of Americans filed by April 3. The IRS already has received more than 99 million returns and issued 77 million refunds averaging more than $2,900.
There will be some stragglers, as a recent Sno-Isle Libraries online survey found.
It asked patrons from Snohomish and Island counties to describe their tax-filing personality. Slightly more than half of the 200 respondents said they use an online tax tool to help them file. Nearly a quarter were turning their taxes over to a professional. Then there was the 9 percent who said they “spend weeks to make it perfect,” 7 percent chose “Lunch date April 15th, my 1040 and me” while 6 percent picked “Extension, please!”
Nationwide the percentage of online filers is well over 80 percent and soon could approach 90 percent.
“We encourage it,” said David Tucker, an IRS spokesman for Washington and other Pacific Northwest states.
There are several advantages to online tax tools, he said. They help identify deductions and credits. They do the calculations and they are more accurate than the pen-and-paper returns. IRS officials say the chances of finding a mistake on an electronic return is less than 1 percent, while the chances of finding a mistake on the written forms is about 20 percent.
Local libraries have become a hub for tax questions. At many libraries, AARP Tax-Aides help retirees and others fill out their tax forms. It is a partnership that has been occurring for more than a decade and is a well-used service, library officials said.
During a two-week period from mid-February to March 1, Sno-Isle libraries staff received 1,214 tax-related questions. That was 10 percent of the questions library users asked during that time.
“It is safe to assume that library staff have been receiving many more and pointing inquirers to the appropriate resources as the tax deadline nears,” libraries spokesman Ken Harvey said.
With the shift to online filing has come breaks with tradition. The Everett Post Office no longer stays open to midnight April 15 for last-second filers. It’s best to drop off returns before 5 p.m. at drop boxes. The front counter at the post office will close at 5:30 p.m.
Likewise, fewer refund checks are returned through the mail. Most refunds are done through direct deposit accounts.
While many people are scrambling to complete their 2014 taxes, the IRS is hoping that those entitled to refunds from 2011 will file by Wednesday’s deadline. There’s $28.7 million waiting for roughly 28,000 Washington taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2011.
They were given a three-year window to file.
“People could be missing out on a substantial refund, especially students and part-time workers,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a news release. “Some people may not have filed because they didn’t make much money, but they may still be entitled to a refund.”
Half of the potential refunds from 2011 are for more than $750.
Any part of the $28.7 million that goes unclaimed will end up in the U.S. Treasury, Tucker said.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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