With nearly three out of four taxpayers receiving an income tax refund each year, around $2,800 on average according to the IRS, we can\u2019t think of any reason you\u2019d want to delay filing your taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, as awesome as it is to have more cash in your pocket, that\u2019s not the only benefit of early filing. Here are a few more reasons to get your act together early this tax season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early filers average larger refunds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IRS data shows that taxpayers who file by late-February get significantly larger refunds than those who file later\u2014around $300 on average. Obviously, if you know you\u2019re getting a refund, you\u2019re more likely to file sooner, and that could be part of the reason early filers enjoy larger refunds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But another reason is that the sooner you start on your taxes, the more opportunity you have to make sure you\u2019re claiming all the deductions you\u2019re eligible for. The IRS reports that 66% of taxpayers choose to claim the standard deduction on their tax forms. Millions of taxpayers could get larger refunds by itemizing their deductions, which takes more time and requires more documentation than claiming the standard deduction. According to the Government Accountability Office, it\u2019s a shortcut that could cost taxpayers $1 billion each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t put yourself in a position where you have to cut corners in order to meet the tax-filing deadline. Start working with a tax pro early so you have time to get the job done right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early filers can protect their refunds from identity thieves<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Filing early may not eliminate the threat of identity theft, but it can protect your refund. If thieves file a return using your Social Security number before you do, the IRS will kick out your return since their records show you\u2019ve already been paid. It can take months to clear up the mess with the IRS and finally receive your refund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember that even though you may feel like you\u2019re in a race to get your forms filed, don\u2019t rush through the process. That\u2019s how mistakes get made. And when it comes to taxes, those mistakes come with dollar signs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early filers eliminate tax deadline stress<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any time you face an unpleasant task, it\u2019s best to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Income taxes are no different. You must fill out the forms and you have to file them, so just grit your teeth and get it over with. Give yourself a fake deadline\u2014well ahead of the April deadline\u2014to get your taxes taken care of. Once your return is filed, give yourself a small reward for being so efficient and responsible. Then relax while everyone else stresses out about getting their taxes done on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early filers with a tax bill have time to make a plan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re facing an income tax bill instead of a refund, it\u2019s natural to put off filing as long as possible. But if you go ahead and fill out your tax forms and file them, you\u2019ll know exactly how much you must pay\u2014and you won\u2019t have to pay in full until the April filing deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The more time you have to come up with the money, the less likely you are to bust your budget or drain your emergency fund. So, don\u2019t spend the first part of the year with your head in the sand. Get the facts about what you owe, make your plan, and get that tax bill out of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early filers face less competition for access to their tax professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By mid-March of the 2018 tax season, nearly 78 million people had already filed their income taxes. That left the remaining 68 million people just one month to file theirs by the deadline. If you were one of those procrastinators, you found out the hard way that it\u2019s tough to get on a good tax pro\u2019s schedule during crunch time. In fact, if you haven\u2019t set an appointment with a pro by the middle of March, you\u2019ll probably have to file an extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On top of that, most tax pros will charge more to complete your taxes as the filing deadline approaches. The best way to avoid all that hassle is to get an appointment with your advisor as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a9 Lampo Licensing, LLC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With nearly three out of four taxpayers receiving an income tax refund each year, around $2,800 on average according to the IRS, we can\u2019t think of any reason you\u2019d want to delay filing your taxes.
\n\tBut, as awesome as it is to have more cash in your pocket, that\u2019s not the only benefit of early filing. Here are a few more reasons to get your act together early this tax season:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,56],"tags":[106,105],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-life","category-money","tag-benefits","tag-taxes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":657,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655\/revisions\/657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodstuffconnections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}