How to get $$$ faster from the IRS

If you're among the 70 percent of taxpayers who overpaid on their federal withholding taxes and have a refund coming, here's how you can get your money in as little as 48 hours -- electronic filing.

Electronic filing is the process of sending your tax information to the IRS electronically, rather than with a paper form you mail. Electronic filing can mean a secure phone line to the IRS like most of the big national tax firms use, or it can be through your computer and over the Internet when you file it yourself.

Electronic filing is definitely the fastest way to get money back from the IRS. Nearly 34-million taxpayers, about one out of every four, will file electronically this year.

But what if you don't have a computer or access to the Internet?

"Not a problem," says Stephen Sprenger in the Seattle office of H&R Block, the company that handles one out of every seven tax returns filed. "For a small fee, we can file it electronically in our office for you."

Sprenger listed three benefits of using a tax service to file electronically:

It's impossible to make a math error (the most common mistake on paper returns) because a computer checks all calculations.

The IRS itself acknowledges receipt of your return within eight hours.

You get your refund check faster, usually within two or three weeks, about twice as fast as it would be if you mailed your return.

Refund Anticipation Loans -- an even faster way to get your money

If you want your money even faster, you can apply for a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL). A RAL is a loan made to you by a bank until they receive your actual refund from the IRS. The RAL can be as fast as 48 hours!

There is, however, a small fee to cover the loan that the bank advances to you until they receive your refund money from the IRS.

"We can now offer low cost RALs, starting at under $20," said Sprenger, "because the IRS provides the loaning banks with a Debt Indicator. The Debt Indicator helps the bank screen out returns where the government has claims against the filer for things like child support or back taxes. In turn, the banks charge less to make the loans to our clients because they're more confident of being repaid."

Sprenger said that due to the lower fees and the fact that more people are filing electronically, Refund Anticipation Loans are up more than 50-percent this year.

Need money? If you anticipate a refund, your own account with the IRS may be the best place to go right now.

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This information is provided by H&R Block, the world's leader in tax preparation with more than 10,000 offices worldwide. Approximately one in seven U.S. taxpayers use the services of H&R Block.