When is the best time to turn in your taxes?

[genchan]

I was just wondering when is the best time to turn in your taxes? Is it better to turn them in as early as possible or is it better to take the extension and turn them in late? Are there advantages to doing it either way?

[akaivyleaf]

If you owe, you start accruing interest on 4/16 no matter the extention or not. If you are expecting a refund, then its best to get it early, just so your wait isn't so long.

[kashi]

if you have to pay, try not to do an extension. it will only cost you more.

if you get a refund, try not to do an extension. it will only let your money sit in government hands for a longer period of time, and you'd rather have that money in your hands!

[genchan]

So if I will get a refund, it is best to turn them in right away and if I have to pay, I should wait until the April 15 deadline. Is there a better time to submit your taxes so that you don't get audited?

[Momtwo]

Audits are done randomly according to certain professions. If you are honest and do your taxes correctly, you have nothing to worry about.

[jhd815]

Regarding audits, the IRS has certain standard amounts for deductions, etc. they expect to see related to your income level. If your deductions are out of the norm, it could trigger an audit. The best advice is to only take those deductions that are legitimate.

Also, if you get back a large refund, you may want to consider refiguring your withholding amounts so that you can see the amount of a large refund reflected in each of your paychecks rather than giving Uncles Sam an interest free loan.

For example, let's say that you are expecting a refund of $5,000.00. By refiguring your withholding, you could see that $5,000.00 amount (or close to it) in your paychecks throughout the year rather than as one big refund amount you get once a year.

[txjman]

I am getting a large refund back, and I have been trying to figure out how to adjust my withholding. I can't find anything that says if you claim x amount of dependants then your withholding will be y. I went through the worksheets on the W-4 and it said that I should claim 0 which is not right because I currently claim 1 and will be receiving over $3000. Does anyone know of a better way to firgure your withholding?

[txjman]

Disregard that last post by me, I figured everything out.