Topeka ? Taxpayers have a new, free Internet-based electronic filing option.

The Kansas Revenue Department, in partnership with the Information Network of Kansas, began offering WebFile at 1:15 p.m. Monday.

	www.accesskansas.org

An hour later, six people had filed returns using it.

The department’s secretary, Stephen S. Richards, said that Kansas is one of only a handful of states that had a system similar to WebFile.

WebFile is the fourth electronic option for Kansas individual income tax filers. Other options are PC File, free downloadable software; TeleFile, a telephone-based system; and IRS e-file, which files the state return with the federal return.

Developers of WebFile said the program eliminates the downloading and program installation steps that some PC File users found confusing.

“It’s the fastest and easiest way to file because there are no special software packages to buy or download,” Richards said.

WebFile users need Internet access, W-2 statements and other filing documents. To access the application, filers use their Social Security number and one of three other numbers a Personal Identification Number on the mailing label of the Kansas tax booklet or the amount of their 2000 refunds or payments.

First-time filers can’t use the system, Richards said. But nonresidents with earned income in Kansas could use WebFile, as well as people filing amended returns for 2001.

The program allows filers to save unfinished returns and return to it later. Richards said WebFile is more accurate than paper returns because the entries are calculated automatically.