Telefile Wins Innovations in
American Government Award

WASHINGTON - TeleFile, the Internal Revenue Service's file- by-phone program, today received a $100,000 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ford Foundation. TeleFile was one of ten programs recognized as setting a standard of excellence in government. The award will be used to further inform the public about the availability and advantages of this tax filing option.

"Our dedicated employees have made TeleFile a winner for our customers, and we're pleased that it's been chosen as a winning Innovation in American Government," said Acting IRS Commissioner Michael P. Dolan. "With this recognition, we expect millions more will use TeleFile to make their tax filing as easy as a phone call."

TeleFile lets people with simple returns complete their filing with a 10-minute phone call. This paperless system even allows taxpayers to have refunds deposited directly to their bank accounts. TeleFile is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting in early January. Last year, nearly 4.7 million taxpayers used TeleFile. Since first testing TeleFile in 1992, the IRS has received over 9 million returns by phone.

The IRS is now testing the use of TeleFile for employment tax returns from small businesses in the Southeast and expects to expand this nationwide in 1998.

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