Comptroller names O’Neill top e-filer in county

Aimee O’Neill  & Co., Inc., has been cited by Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot as the Harford County tax preparer with the greatest percentage increase in returns filed electronically over the past year. The Forest Hill commercial tax preparation service increased e-filings by 58 percent.

The Comptroller’s office presented certificates to the e-filers with the great percentage increase in each of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City.

In a news release about e-filing, Franchot said, “It allows taxpayers to conveniently file their taxes using a safe and fast method, while simultaneously speeding up the process for receiving tax refunds and saving the state money.”

Commercial tax preparers filed more than one million of the 1.6 million tax returns filed electronically in 2009.

According to state figures, each tax return filed electronically costs about 38 cents to process. Processing a paper return costs almost $1.95. The Comptroller’s office say electronic filing has saved more than $18 million in processing costs since it was implemented in the early 1990s.

Visit www.marylandtaxes.com to file electronically, receive refund information, locate forms and publications and to get answers to frequently asked questions. Taxpayers also can e-mail questions about taxes to taxhelp@comp.state.md.us or call 410-2607980 or 1-800-MD-TAXES, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hours will be extended to 8 p.m. from Feb. 1 through April 16.