The U.S. Internal Revenue Service reported today that traffic to IRS.gov has increased by more than 24 percent since last year.

More than 138 million taxpayers have visited IRS.gov this year, up from 111 million for the same time period in 2008.

IRS encourages taxpayers to visit the site to obtain information on:

  • tax questions on the economic recovery legislation
  • preparing and filing tax returns timely and accurately
  • what you can do tax-wise if you’re facing financial difficulty
  • how to file for free electronically if you earn less than $56,000 a year

I’ve used the site several times myself and it’s always useful. Sometimes it’s just a matter of me refining what I’m searching on. But if you want tax info directly from the source there’s no better way to go.

The site now includes information in audio and video formats. So you can download tax podcasts or watch videos on how to file your taxes.

Here’s the address for podcasts: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=179391,00.html

And videos: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=180740,00.html

You can also see transcripts of these if you prefer to read about the topics.

And one more thing, the only official Web site ends in .gov. Sites with any other extension are not valid, warns the IRS.

March 31, 2009