Depends on who you are probably. But a poor person who's only access to the Internet is via smart phone might beg to differ. This also might matter if you do taxes on paper rather than using an online service (paid or free). When you file digitally and supply a bank account you absolutely will receive a tax return pretty expediently unless you get audited. But if you file a paper tax return by snail mail and are expecting a check? Different story. What if they never received your return? What if it was lost in the mail? What if the check gets lost in the mail?