Accounting technology / Glossary / IRS e-file

What is IRS e-file?

Definition

IRS e-file is the US Internal Revenue Service's system for filing tax returns electronically through authorised software and providers instead of on paper. Most individual, business and information returns are filed this way. Preparers who file 11 or more individual, estate or trust returns a year must e-file them, as must businesses filing 10 or more information returns.

Also callede-fileModernized e-FileMeFelectronic filing

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Preparers must e-file: 11 or more individual returns
Information returns: E-file if 10 or more a year
System: Modernized e-File (MeF)

How IRS e-file works

Returns are prepared in tax software and transmitted to the IRS through its Modernized e-File system by an authorised e-file provider. Firms that file for clients apply to become Authorized e-file Providers and receive an Electronic Filing Identification Number. The IRS sends an acknowledgement for each return, accepted or rejected, and rejected returns are corrected and resent. Clients authorise filing with a signature form, such as Form 8879 for individual returns. Since 2024 the threshold for information returns, such as Forms 1099 and W-2, is 10 a year counted across almost all types together, so most businesses that issue them must file electronically. States run their own e-file programmes, often linked to the federal one. Accrual prepares individual, trust and partnership returns for accounting firms, and April embeds federal and state filing in financial apps.

Common questions

Who must file returns electronically with the IRS?+

Tax return preparers whose firm expects to file 11 or more individual, estate or trust returns in a year, and filers of 10 or more information returns, counted together across almost all types, in a calendar year.

What is an Authorized e-file Provider?+

A firm accepted by the IRS to file returns electronically for clients. It receives an Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) and must follow IRS e-file rules.

What happens if the IRS rejects an e-filed return?+

The IRS sends a rejection with error codes. The preparer corrects the problem, such as a mismatched name and taxpayer ID, and transmits the return again.