Here's What Might Happen if You File Your Taxes at the Last Minute

At this point, a lot of people have already submitted their tax returns to the IRS. In fact, as of early March, the IRS had already received upward of 54 million returns.

But tax returns aren't due this year until April 15. So if you haven't started yours yet, there's no need to panic.

However, you also don't want to wait until the last minute to start working on your taxes. If you're forced to rush through the filing process, you could end up hurting yourself financially.

You don't want to risk a mistake

Any time you put off a task you're then forced to rush through, you run the risk of making a mistake. The same holds true for taxes. If you wait too long and find yourself up against the deadline, you might end up neglecting to claim certain credits or deductions you're really entitled to. The result? A smaller tax refund.

Or, let's say you owe the IRS money, but you forget to claim a tax credit that could reduce your tax liability from $3,000 to $1,000. That, too, hurts you financially.

Furthermore, if you're rushing to complete your taxes, you might forget to report income, whether it's interest in your savings account or earnings from a small freelance project you completed. Either way, failing to report income could result in your tax return getting audited -- even if it was an honest mistake.

And while tax audits aren't necessarily the harrowing experience you tend to see depicted on TV, they can be stressful and annoying. So why deal with one if you don't have to?

Get started now

At this point, there's still a good number of weeks left before 2023 taxes are due. So do yourself a favor and carve out time later this month or in early April to sit down with a good tax software program and get your taxes finished.

If you end up in a situation where it's April 14 and you haven't begun to start working on your taxes, don't assume that rushing through the process in a single evening is your best bet. Instead, consider requesting a tax extension, which will give you six additional months to submit your return to the IRS without facing a failure-to-file penalty -- a penalty that applies when you're late with a tax return and owe funds to the IRS.

Now one thing a tax extension won't do is give you more time to pay the IRS any money you owe. But if you really find yourself down to the wire, you can try to estimate your tax debt, pay that sum by April 15, and then take the time you need to work on your tax return in a calm manner.

Remember, it's not the responsibility of the IRS to make sure you get all of the tax breaks you're entitled to. So if you forget to claim a benefit you're eligible for due to rushing through your return, you're the one who's going to lose out. It's best to try to avoid that situation.