WASHINGTON — Nearly 99 million individuals efiled their federal income tax returns electronically during 2010, a 3-percent increase from the prior year. That's out of a total of 141.5 returns filed to date this year, according to the The number of refunds directly deposited in taxpayer bank accounts grew at an even faster pace. There were 74.5 million returns directly deposited this year, a 2-percent increase of percent from just under 73 million in 2009. That meant direct deposits represented 69 percent of all refunds, up from 66 percent a year earlier.
The average refund was just under $3,000, an increase of 5.6 percent from 2009's $2,836. Refunds returned by direct deposit averaged $3.2 million, a rise of 5.7 percent from the prior year's $3,018.
