The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research organization, monitors the taxes paid by Americans each year. On April 11, 2012, they released their report for the past year. As Americans prepare to file before the April 17 deadline this year, many may be interested in the impact of taxes on their daily lives.

In tax year 2010, the total federal income taxes paid were $945 billion. 143 million families filed tax returns. 85 million paid taxes and 58 million were not required to make tax payments. The taxpayers with more modest incomes received refundable credits of $105 billion.

The following table shows the income, effective tax rates and percent of the total tax paid by three groups of taxpayers.

Effective Tax Rates and Payments

Income	Effective Tax Rate	Percent of Taxes Paid
$0 - $50,000	3.5%	6.7%
$50,000 - $250,000	14.1%	47.6%
$250,000+	23.4%	45.7%

About one-third of taxpayers chose to itemize deductions. Twenty-five percent of taxpayers deducted mortgage interest and saved approximately $381 billion. Charitable gifts were reported by 27% of taxpayers. These gifts produced a tax savings of $158 billion.

The tax code continues to grow in size and complexity. It now has expanded to 3.8 million words. For the past decade, there has been an average of one change to the tax code every day. What is the time required to complete taxes this year? Over seven billion hours will be devoted to complying with the tax code.

Editor's Note: There is great debate on many aspects of tax law. However, there is a general agreement by Americans from all walks of life that a tax code with 3.8 million words is too long and too complicated. When Congress turns its efforts toward major tax reform in 2013, it hopefully will be able to reduce the size and complexity. By working diligently, perhaps Congress might be able to reduce the Internal Revenue Code to only 3.7 million words.

IRS Tweets as Some Taxpayers Extend

As the April 17 filing date approaches, taxpayers can receive the latest updates from the IRS through Twitter. These Twitter notes are available on http://twitter.com/IRSnews. If you have an Apple or Android smartphone, you may choose to load the free IRS2Go app. It includes the handy "Where's My Refund" function and also permits you to follow the IRS on Twitter.

Professionals may choose to follow specific tax advice for CPAs, attorneys and other tax preparers on http://twitter.com/IRStaxpros.

Many of the tweets offer explanations on how to pay taxes and some of the most common tax deductions and rules.

The IRS also has its own YouTube channel. The official IRS YouTube channel includes five separate sections. These cover "Tax Tips, Do Your Taxes for Free, Small Business, IRS Tax Pros and Uploaded Videos."

If you need to extend, you may watch the YouTube video on filing IRS Form 4868. Filing an extension requires you to estimate and pay your taxes, but you may delay filing until October 15. The payment can be made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by credit or debit card.

A few taxpayers are given special extensions. Citizens outside the U.S. and military on duty outside America may file and pay on June 15. They will need to pay interest from April 17 through June 15 on those payments. Military serving in combat zones in Iraq or Afghanistan have 180 days after departing the combat zone to file and pay tax. Finally, several Midwestern areas affected by the tornadoes and other natural disasters are permitted to file and pay on May 31.