Pushing off your taxes until the last minute? You are not alone.
It is estimated that roughly a third of Americans — or "nearly 33% of Americans" — "procrastinate filing their taxes," said CNBC, citing a survey by real estate company IPX1031.
But it is entirely possible to do your taxes well ahead of the annual April deadline, especially "since most folks receive their most important tax forms by the end of January (and the IRS starts accepting returns around the same time)," said Ramsey Solutions, a financial education website. Experts actually recommend it — and not just because it will clear the dreaded task from your to-do list sooner.
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1. You will get your refund faster.
The sooner you file, the sooner you may get your tax refund. "Basically, if you file late — you could be waiting a while for your return to be processed," said Ramsey Solutions, also noting that "back in May 2024, the IRS still had 2.7 million unprocessed tax returns to crunch through."
2. You will have more time to pay if you end up owing taxes.
While you may feel tempted to drag your feet if you know you owe money to the IRS, getting a headstart can actually help you out. "If you submit your return in the middle of January, you do not have to pay taxes you owe until the filing deadline" in April, said Intuit TurboTax. "This extra time is particularly helpful to taxpayers who need to find out exactly how much they will owe the IRS."
3. You can more easily land an appointment with a tax preparer.
If you think you may need help with your taxes, you are likely to face much more competition if you wait until April to get in line. Plus, beyond the difficulty of landing a spot "on a trusted tax pro's schedule during tax crunch time," those "last-minute appointments may even cost more," said Ramsey Solutions.
4. You might make fewer mistakes.
When you are rushing to meet a deadline, you are more likely to make mistakes on your taxes. This can include everything from making silly typos and fat-fingering keys to overlooking opportunities to get money back. "Those filing near the tax deadline are often rushing to complete their paperwork and could miss valuable deductions or credits," said U.S. News & World Report.
5. You can better avoid identity theft.
"One of the biggest reasons to file as soon as possible is to avoid tax fraud," said U.S. News & World Report. What happens is that "fraudsters use stolen Social Security numbers to create phony returns and file them early in the tax season," and then "if they aren't flagged for review by the IRS, the return is processed and a refund issued. "That means "when the legitimate taxpayer tries to file his or her return, the system rejects it."
