Amazon Salon

App Takes Tax Returns Mobile

Even the nation’s tax collectors are getting in sync with the mobile consumer. The Internal Revenue Service is launching a new smartphone application that gives taxpayers easy access to returns.

IRS2Go is the agency’s first smartphone application: It allows taxpayers to check on the status of their tax refund and obtain helpful tax tips. Personal information, such as social security numbers, will be encrypted, the IRS said as it announced the new addition.

“As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a prepared statement.

Those who e-file can use the mobile app to find information about their refund within about 72 hours after the IRS sends an email acknowledging receipt of their return.

iOS users can download the free IRS2Go application by visiting Apple’s App Store and Android users can visit the Android Marketplace to do so. The government comes at a time when more and more Americans are looking to mobile devices to make transactions. In the U.S., mobile payments are expected to grow 68 percent over the next five years.

IRS2Go is the latest IRS effort to provide information to taxpayers through newly developed technological outlets. The agency has also taken to YouTube and Twitter to share the latest information on tax changes, initiatives, products, and services.

More details on IRS2Go and other new products can be found at IRS.gov.

Get more business intelligence from Portfolio.com:

• What Might Gaddafi Do?: If Muammar Gaddafi stays in power, life on the road will get uglier—and deadlier. Besides downing jets, the Libyan leader has plenty of tempting targets.
• The Great Appstore Battle Ramps Up: Just one day after Apple sued Amazon over use of the name “App Store,” the online retailing giant unveils its Appstore for Android in a move hailed by customers.
• A Cost-of-Doing-Business Handicap: JPMorgan Chase’s decision to end debit-card rewards makes sense for the bank’s bottom line, but it hurts entrepreneurs and startups where they can least afford it—their cash flow.