Taxpayers in Mississippi who already file their federal income taxes electronically each year should continue as normal despite word from the Internal Revenue Service of reduced services this year due to budget cuts and the start of penalties for those without health insurance.

E-filing began last week along with processing of paper returns for those who’ve received a W-2 form from their employer. IRS officials in the state stress all forms are available at www.irs.gov.

“There is no advantage to people filing tax returns on paper in early January instead of waiting for e-file to begin,” IRS spokesman Mark Green said.

Mississippians are advised to get answers online to pressing tax questions about individual returns, Green said.

“I would strongly suggest taxpayers seeking assistance should visit our website and choose e-file,” Green said.

Green said a record was set in 2014 when it comes to e-filing in Mississippi, as more than 90 percent of the state’s 1.2 million returns were sent via computer.

“I expect the same routine and Mississippians should break another record,” Green said, adding college students and people on fixed incomes benefit mightily from e-filing.

The IRS’ general information hotline at 1-800-829-1040 features a menu of options for information on refunds, corporate tax returns and effects of the Affordable Acre Act on this year’s taxes, among.

Free File, a service available only at the agency’s website, began Friday. The program involves 14 branded software companies that make their products available at no charge. Those who prepared a return on Free File prior to Tuesday’s start to the tax season should have had their information sent Tuesday, Green said.

Those earning $60,000 or less were automatically eligible to use the products. Those earning more were eligible for Free File Fillable Forms, which puts the information on electronic paper forms instead of data-entry fields.

Others who got insurance through state and federal marketplaces will have to file a new form, while people who received subsidies will have to provide more detailed information. People who didn’t have health insurance last year face fines unless they qualify for an exemption, which requires more paperwork.

And penalties kick in for those who didn’t have health insurance in 2014, a consequence of the Affordable Care Act. The fee is $95 per person, or about 1 percent of household income. It jumps to $325 per person, or about 2 percent of household income, for people who go without health insurance in 2015.

There’s 33 exemptions to the health care-related tax penalty, all subject to normal IRS vetting procedures.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report