e-Filing Taxes and Refund Tracking

I've been using tax prep software for my taxes the past two years, and I've really enjoyed the simplicity of it. This year, I had most of my information typed in, but I had been waiting for any new tax laws to go through.

While waiting, I had been debating the merits e-Filing like I did last year, or mailing in a paper copy. The only real detriment in e-Filing that I can discover, outside of paying a fee, is that it is easier for the government to audit your statements and make you pay more.

Well, I just take the standard deduction and I have some capital gains losses, so I don't have much to worry about.

I did however, discover an additional benefit: the government has a website setup to help track tax refunds, and for e-Filers, the tracking starts 72 hours after filing, rather than 3-4 weeks for the paper version.

The address is here: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html