WASHINGTON – Truly paperless electronic tax filing will be available for most taxpayers this year from the Internal Revenue Service, which projected Tuesday that a record 42 million will choose the e-file option.

People who want to zap their returns to the IRS will select their own five-digit personal identification number instead of mailing in a separate paper signature form, which had hindered more rapid growth of e-filing, IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti said. About 35 million returns were e-filed in 2000.

Also, the IRS is adding 23 forms to the list that can be filed electronically, meaning almost every individual taxpayer can now use the e-file system.