TIME RUNNING SHORT FOR FILING TAXES

More Americans than ever before are filing their tax returns electronically, the Internal Revenue Service says.

About 70 million Americans have filed returns so far this year. About a third of those or 25 million have filed electronically, the IRS said.

Of those, about 1.8 million have filed their returns from home via the Internet. The rest have been filed via telephone in the case of simple tax forms and by tax accounting firms.

The number who have filed electronically via home computers is about three times higher than what it was at this time a year ago, said Larry Mosblech, an IRS spokesman in St. Louis.

But officials at the Cape Girardeau Post Office still expect a rush of last-minute filers seeking to mail off their income tax returns by the midnight Thursday deadline.

Matthew Peters, manager of customer services at the local post office, said he expects customers will be lined up Thursday afternoon to mail their tax returns.

"A lot of people want to certify them," said Peters, who often sees the same last-minute filers each year.

For those who don't want to send the returns by certified mail, the best bet is to use the stamp machine in the lobby, he said.

Those who wait until the last minute to do their taxes can seek help from the IRS and Missouri Department of Revenue staff, who will be stationed in the post office lobby from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Taxpayers also can visit the IRS office at 137 S. Broadview from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. through Thursday for answers to their tax questions.

Last-minute filers should keep in mind that the post office windows close at 5 p.m., Peters said.

But mail will be picked up at the collection box outside the post office at 320 N. Frederick until midnight Thursday. Returns postmarked midnight or earlier will meet the income-tax deadline.

Those who file electronically don't have to worry about last-minute trips to the post office.

Americans can file electronically by telephone, Internet or through professional tax accounting firms.

The IRS' Mosblech said his agency hopes the number of electronic filings will continue to grow. The IRS goal is eventually to have 90 percent of returns filed electronically.

In all, the IRS will process about 125 million tax returns this year, the majority of them sent through the mail.

Mosblech said a number of families this year failed to take into account a new tax credit of $400 per child under age 17. This is the first year for the added tax credit.

Mosblech said filing electronically is safer than going through the mail. "You do receive confirmation that it is received."

It also eliminates the possibility that the IRS will incorrectly transcribe the numbers from the paper forms, he said.

Those who file electronically can expect to receive their refund at least two weeks earlier than if they mail it, he said.