3 Reasons to File Your Taxes Early This Year

Moving quickly could work to your benefit.

There are certain tasks in life that many of us tend to procrastinate on -- things like cleaning out the garage, putting away the laundry, and, for some people, filing a tax return. 

Taxes are due on April 18 this year. Normally, the filing deadline is April 15, but since that date falls on a weekend, and the next Monday is Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in Washington, D.C., filers get an extra few days this year to submit a return.

But just because you have until mid-April to file your taxes doesn't mean you should wait that long. Here's why it pays to submit your return well ahead of the April deadline. 

1. You can get your refund sooner

Most people who file a tax return wind up being eligible for a refund. And so the sooner you submit your taxes, the sooner you can get the money you're entitled to. 

A lot of people these days are sitting on costly credit card debt, whether due to having racked some up during the holidays or due to covering expenses in a year of rampant inflation. If you're sitting on a balance, for each day you carry it, it might cost you more in interest. The sooner you get your refund, the sooner you can start to chip away at that debt.

2. You can make a plan for paying your tax bill sooner

Many people's tax situations changed in 2022 for different reasons. For one thing, the boosted Child Tax Credit filers enjoyed in 2021 didn't get an enhancement in 2022, so that could lead to smaller refunds -- or in some cases, owing the IRS money. 

If you're used to getting a check from the IRS during tax season and you're now in a position where you have to pay, that could constitute a big strain. And the sooner you file your taxes, the sooner you'll know how much you owe. From there, you can make a plan to get your tax bill paid by April 18 to avoid interest and penalties on it. 

To be clear, you do not need to pay your tax bill the day you file your return. For example, you can submit a return on Feb. 18 and pay the associated bill two months later.

3. You can potentially avoid fraud

Scammers have a host of tactics up their sleeves to steal people's money. One common scam is to get a hold of a Social Security number, file a tax return in someone's name, and then divert their refund to a bank account only they can access.

But if you file your tax return early this year, you might manage to avoid falling victim to that sort of fraud. The reason? The IRS will only accept one tax return per Social Security number. If you file a legitimate return and then a scammer tries to file one a few weeks later, theirs will get bounced back as duplicate. 

Many people find it difficult to motivate themselves to do their taxes early. But getting started sooner rather than later could really benefit you in more ways than one.