If I file my taxes early, when would I receive a refund?

December 12, 2006 7:17 PM

If I file my taxes early, when would I receive a refund?

I am wondering if it is worth it to file my taxes early. Will I also get my refund early as well? I am thinking of filing my taxes this January.

posted by torpark to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Yep. I usually file my taxes as soon as possible and get my refund a few weeks after.
posted by Anonymous at 7:23 PM on December 12, 2006

Almost forgot--you can't file them until you get your W-2s (?), and many employers don't give those out until they absolutely have to.
posted by Anonymous at 7:24 PM on December 12, 2006

Of course you will get your refund early. And since you are filing early you should get your refund in a couple of weeks.
I assume you have all your income statements, etc. Employer's have until Jan 31 to provide those to you. So I assume you will have all supporting documents early. That is a good thing. Good luck.
posted by JayRwv at 7:25 PM on December 12, 2006

Last time we were owed a refund, we filed in February (electronically) and had the refund in a bit under three weeks. File as soon as you get all the paperwork together, file electronically and specify direct deposit for the refund check.
posted by enrevanche at 7:33 PM on December 12, 2006

I always file by the end of January. I usually get my refund within 3 weeks, even with requesting paper checks instead of direct deposit. (And for the truly impatient, you can check whether your refund has been posted right on the IRS website here.)
posted by headspace at 7:36 PM on December 12, 2006

By the way, if you have State Farm insurance or an account at their bank (including a credit card), you can use the Web version of TurboTax and e-file for free. At least, you could last year; I assume it'll be the same this year.
posted by kindall at 7:59 PM on December 12, 2006

Of course, if you go to taxfreedom.com (state and federal) anybody (under a certain income limit, although I don't know what it is) can do that for free. Not up til January 17th though.
posted by calistasm at 8:57 PM on December 12, 2006

Yep, I usually file electronically within a week of having all the needed documents, and get my tax refund deposited into my bank account within two or three weeks.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 10:07 PM on December 12, 2006

Although you probably know this, make sure to file electronically if you want a speedy refund. Filing with paper can delay your return multiple weeks.
posted by blue mustard at 7:13 AM on December 13, 2006

It may not help this year, but you should change your withholding so that your refund would be 0. That way you keep the money in the first place instead of giving the IRS an interest free loan. I suppose this only applies to refunds, not tax credits, so may not apply in any case for you.
posted by metajack at 1:17 PM on December 13, 2006