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From Natalie Pawelski
CNNdotCOM Correspondent

(CNN) -- The clock is ticking, the IRS is waiting and taxpayers are stalling. It's that time of year again -- time to pay your taxes. But filing taxes may be getting a bit less painful.

Updated software, better home computers and faster Internet connections can make for relatively quick and easy interaction with the Internal Revenue Service.

Online tax filing is hardly a new concept, but it is getting more popular with each passing tax season.

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Terry Lutes, IRS Director of Electronic Tax Administration, estimates that "the last four years we've been averaging 20 percent growth each year. Last year, 35 million people filed electronically. This year our estimate is 42 million -- or one of every three tax returns -- will be filed electronically."

E-filing does have advantages over traditional mail-in forms.

"It makes quite a bit of difference. If you file the return electronically, and you request a direct deposit, directly into your bank account, you'll get your refund in an average of 14 days, as opposed to four to five weeks," says Lutes.

He says filing electronically will not increase your chances of being audited. However, the software used to prepare your taxes can reduce your chances of receiving an error notice since it does the math for you.

Security worries downplayed

Online security is still a major area of concern for many potential e-filers. But Lutes downplays those fears.

"We've been doing this for 15 years now, going back to 1986, and we've never really had an incident where folks have been able to intercept returns, or get into our systems and access those returns," assures Lutes. "We are constantly reviewing those processes, and when we find weaknesses, we address those weaknesses as quickly as we can."

The transactions from taxpayer to the IRS do not go over the Internet, but rather travel through a kind of Intranet set up directly between the software firms and IRS headquarters.

If you end up owing the government money instead of receiving a refund, the IRS has simplified the painful process of paying too. The IRS now accepts the Discover card, American Express, MasterCard and direct debits from your personal account, with your consent. It does not take Visa.

Various software packages available

So why is the IRS encouraging e-filing?

"The reason is that the tax laws are very complex, and we think that an important part of our job is to make the process of complying with the tax laws simpler for the taxpayers," says Lutes. "The software does a variety of tax checks -- much of the software provides various kinds of advice and tips for the taxpayer as they are filing."

There are a number of software packages available today for just about every kind of taxpayer. The IRS does not endorse any of these products, but its Web site is linked to them, says Lutes.

"Then the taxpayer needs to make an intelligent judgement about which software product is right for them."

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