Tax season is winding down, sending last-minute filers — cleverly dubbed “pro-crust-inators” by Papa John’s marketing crew — into a panic. To mark the occasion, Papa John’s is offering customers a slice of tax relief with a “1040” online special: a large, original crust pizza with up to three toppings for just $10.40.

From April 13 until April 15, customers can get a tax break by simply entering the “1040” promotional code when placing their online orders at www.papajohns.com.

Papa John’s hopes the online-only offer will be especially convenient to the growing number of Americans who are choosing to file their taxes online. When the company first introduced the 1040 special in 2006, more than 73 million people filed their taxes online, up seven percent from the year before, according to the Internal Revenue Service. The number of e-filers rose by nine percent the following year, when more than 79 million people submitted their returns online. And in 2008, the number of e-filers is already up six percent over last year.

“As the number of e-filers has risen the last few years, more than 30,000 Papa John’s customers have redeemed our 1040 online offer,” said Jim Ensign, vice president of marketing communications for Papa John’s. “Our customers have started expecting this special to roll around, just like the tax deadline.”