It’s Almost Tax Day – Have You Filed Yet?

Unlike Christmas or Halloween, Tax Day won’t make the top ten list of anyone’s favorite holidays. Many people grumble and groan at it. Some even turn out to protest it. If you’ve been putting off filing your taxes, you’re not alone. As many as one in three taxpayers wait until the last two weeks of the season to file their taxes.

There are many reasons not to be one of these people.

If your return is more complex than you thought, you might need forms or documents that won’t arrive in time, especially if they must be mailed. Don’t expect institutions like banks, brokerages, or legal offices to expedite documents just because you have a deadline. Plan ahead and save the stress.

Do you have everything you need? The quickest way to make a mistake is to rush through the process in the frantic last hours before tax time. It will increase the chance of an IRS or state audit, so instead of being done for the year, you may be dealing with some not so nice letters.

Identify theft is another reason to file earlier. Once you file your taxes, your Social Security number can’t be used by anyone else. Yes, it can and does happen, leaving you to explain to the IRS why everything on your return is wrong. 

Not only do you have to file by the due date, any payments due also need to be sent by that deadline. The balance due may be more than you thought, leaving you little to no time to come up with the money. The sooner you file, the sooner you know the damage and the sooner you can come up with a plan to deal with it.

Tax time is never going to be fun, but don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Plan ahead and file early, so you can get back to your life.