One of the US Inland Revenue Service’s highest-profile officials has admitted she is still submits her tax return in the mail.

National taxpayer advocate Nina Olson told Congress that she mailed in a printed version of her 2005 tax return in order to save $14.95 (£8.53), WebCPA reported.

‘Although I deeply believe that e-filing is best for both taxpayers and the IRS, for a host of reasons, I resented the notion that I would have to pay separate fees to prepare my return and to file it [electronically],’ she said in testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.

Olson, who has filed tax returns for 27 years, told Congress that her government salary disqualifies her from using the Free File products designed to expedite e-filing.
According to reports, millions of US taxpayers are abandoning e-filing in the wake of a new agreement struck between the IRS and commercial tax preparation firms, which places income restrictions on the use of Free File products for the 2005 tax year.

IRS data shows that nearly 45 million returns prepared using computer software are sent in through the mail rather than filed electronically, though the IRS has released statistics showing electronic filing percentages are up.