We’re in the final countdown to another tax season and, if you’re like half the population, you probably haven’t even started putting anything together to give to your accountant, or if you don’t have an accountant are worried that you might owe money so you’re putting off the bad news until the last minute.
We’re a “wait until the last minute” society and that means we’re either not disciplined or are usually expecting the worst. People who expect good things always get to them as soon as possible so they can get on with having fun, or at least being comfortable.
When it comes to taxes, you might as well face the fact that you still have to report them by April 15th (although in some states it gets delayed a day and of course one can always file for an extension, even though by rights you’re still supposed to pay something if you think you might owe). It’s in this regard that we list some things you should think about that may or may not encourage you to get to your taxes earlier.
1. You might be getting a refund. We’ve never been able to figure out why people who know they’re getting money back won’t get their taxes in sooner. If you’re a millionaire we might understand but for the rest of us, which is close to 95%…
2. You might owe something. This is what people fear but the truth is that the IRS is probably one of the few agencies in the country where they’ll work with you on paying down outstanding debt, and the interest rates aren’t really all that high. Still, it’s possible that if you do your taxes earlier and you see there’s an amount you owe that you can save up and either pay the entire thing off on the 15th or pay something toward your balance; the IRS likes that.
3. If you’re not planning on doing your own taxes the availability of someone to do them gets severely tested. In January many accountants or tax preparation companies have people just sitting around waiting for you. As it gets close to the magic date you’ll often see lines and, in some cases, you’ll have to make an appointment to see some of these folks. Talk about anxiety levels!
4. If you’re doing your own and you’ve just bought the software you could find yourself getting confused. If you have any questions at all and need to reach out to someone you’re probably going to get put on hold and have to wait while they deal with all those other people who waited until the last minute to use the software to do their taxes.
As we like to say around here, it’s always better to know than not know. If you haven’t addressed it yet… well, what are you waiting for! 🙂