Serious question, does anyone actually file their taxes months early or is that a myth?

I was at a coffee shop in downtown Portland last April 14th and saw this guy calmly submitting his return on a laptop like it was nothing. He told me he files in February every year because it helps him avoid the rush and catch errors early. Meanwhile I was there sweating over a stack of receipts from 3 side gigs I totally forgot about. So which side are you on - the early bird filers or the last minute scramble crew?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary_west9d ago

Wait until the deadline every single year. I've filed on April 15th for the last decade straight. The early bird gets the worm but the last minute scramble gets a free extension if something goes wrong and you realize you're missing a form. Plus half the people I know who file in February end up having to amend their return because some random 1099 showed up in March that they forgot about.

ellioth378d ago

I get what you're saying Mary but I gotta push back hard on the "half the people who file early need to amend" thing. That's just not true for most people. I've filed in early February every year for like 15 years and never once had to amend. If you have simple stuff like a W-2 and some basic deductions, you're good. Plus the real benefit nobody talks about is getting your refund months earlier. That money can be sitting in your account earning interest or paying down debt while the procrastinators are still stressing over their shoebox of receipts. The whole "waiting for random 1099s" excuse feels more like a reason people tell themselves to avoid doing their taxes than an actual problem.