Here are some tips to help you measure up the pros of filing an early tax return.
1. Faster refund. It makes sense to file an early tax return if you are expecting a refund. Since you file at a time when the IRS is not so busy, you should receive your refund soon.
2. Avoid procrastination. Filing your tax return on April 15th might be a very stressful task for you. You can do a lot of other important things while the rest of the world crowds the IRS office.
3. Avoid rushing to a jam-packed post office. Statistics at IRS say that about 30% of taxpayers mail their tax return. At an average of 5 minutes per customer, you can get up to April 17th waiting for your time inside the post office. That’s wasted time.
4. Avoid penalties. Since you cannot predict what might possibly happen to you as April 15 nears, it is wise to take care of your tax returns now. At least you don’t have to worry about the money you will waste in interest and penalties in case life throws something bad at you by April 15.
5. Avoid complications. It is difficult to make adjustments just in case you will have a last minute discovery that makes your tax return complicated. You should realize that you need extra time to figure out what happened.
6. Avoid the usual mistakes that come with rushing. Rushing things up can actually lead to mistakes you could avoid when doing things with the luxury of time. According to IRS, the more common mistakes include errors in entering numbers such as the tax account number or the social security number. It is indeed easy to mess up with simple things when you are in a hurry.
Generally speaking, early filing is good for people with simple tax returns and who are expecting tax refunds.