The electronic file submitted to the IRS is indeed electronically signed but there is no such thing as an electronically signed paper copy when you need to submit a copy to a bank or other lender. You have to print a paper copy and sign it in ink. Even if the lender accepts a pdf, you have to sign and scan a paper return. Lenders, even the US Dept of Ed, don’t have the ability to import the IRS’s unique and specific electronic file format, which is a machine readable XML file, not a human readable tax return.
