A new way of filing for income tax refunds over the telephone may be helpful for students who are short on time and low on cash, an Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman said.

The new process, TeleFile, consists of filling out a worksheet, calling a toll-free number and following a series of voice-prompted instructions, Kris Moore, public affairs officer for the IRS Springfield District, said.

Taxpayers who are eligible for the new system will receive a TeleFile tax booklet in the mail with their regular tax form, she said.

Students who received the package will be able to file their tax returns much faster, she said. With students’ busy schedules, it’s fast, it’s easy, and it involves very little paperwork. And it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The process takes approximately 10 minutes, Moore said. TeleFile is an interactive computer program that figures the amount of the caller’s tax refund or balance due and then begins the electronic tax filing process over the phone. Refund checks generally will be received within three weeks, Moore said.

To be eligible for TeleFile, taxpayers must be single with no dependents, have a taxable income of less than $50,000, have previously filed a 1040-EZ, live at the same address as last year and have received a booklet in the mail with this year’s tax information from the IRS, Moore said.

More than 20 million people nationwide will receive the TeleFile booklet, she said.

So far, we’ve gotten a good response on it, Moore said.

Karie Hutchko, a pre-major student from Carbondale, said TeleFile sounds like an easy and fast way to file taxes, but she is wary of using the phone to file her taxes.

I don’t think it’s safe to do taxes over the phone, Hutchko said. There is no written proof, and I’d rather spend more time doing taxes myself and doing it right rather than risk doing it over the phone.

Michael Housewirth, the Carbondale office supervisor for H & R Block, 1400 W. Main St., a tax preparation service, said he agrees with Hutchko.

If you use TeleFile, there is no third party to verify that you did your income tax return, Housewirth said.

By using a third party such as a paid tax preparer, taxpayers have proof that they filed their taxes, he said. Housewirth said there have been many cases where the IRS has misplaced returns.

If the IRS loses paper returns, what makes someone think the IRS can keep track of returns filed over the phone? he said.

Paid tax preparers use an electronic filing system to ensure a refund check will not be lost in the mail, Housewirth said.

Steve Echevarria, a senior in visual communications from Springfield, said he files his taxes himself and does not need to pay a tax preparer to ensure that he receives his refund check.

I make copies of all my forms, and I get a receipt from the post office to prove I mailed them, he said.

Echevarria said he has weighed the pros and cons of using a tax preparer and TeleFile.

If you’re a student, for the amount of money you’re going to get back, it’s not worth paying someone, he said. If I qualify for TeleFile, it would be a convenient way of filing my taxes, but I question the safety of it because of problems I’ve had with doing business over the phone.