Taxes can be stressful, but a lot of this stress can be avoided by simply filing your taxes early. These are just a few of the many benefits to filing early and avoiding the last-minute tax season rush.
More Time to Pay Your Taxes
This is especially beneficial if you owe money at the end of the year, and have not planned ahead and set aside enough to make the payment, as it gives you time to determine the amount owed, and save or arrange the funds. Even when people are not in debt, they still may stress about having a short amount of time to come up with the money for their taxes. Filing early gives you more time to breath and arrange your finances.
Faster Tax Refund
The concept is simple, the sooner you file, the sooner you will receive a refund if you are entitled to one. In addition to that, electronically filing (EFILE) and setting up direct deposit with the CRA, linking the payment to your bank account, means that you will receive your refund faster than filing with paper and waiting for a cheque to be mailed. However, either method will still ensure you receive them before everyone else that filed last minute.
Avoid a Tax Omission
When you prepare your accounting and tax documents to file early you have more time to gather and sort through your financial information – which can often have missing receipts or other important items. Filing early gives you more time to get everything in order so that you don’t overlook or omit any income or expense information.
Updated Financial Information
If an important or large life event such as a first home purchase is coming up, this information can be very valuable. It can help you plan accordingly and help you get a head start on any necessary paperwork. If you use an accountant, this updated financial information means they can provide you with more accurate advice.
Extra Time to Seek Help
Often times we underestimate the process of filing taxes. It can be time consuming and stressful. Filing early gives you extra time to seek help if you need it. Tax season is the busiest time of the year for accountants, so going to them earlier means that they will have more time to focus on you.
Filing your taxes early is always a good idea. Our team of Chartered Accountants is highly experienced in all aspects of corporate, personal, and small business tax, and can assist you with tax return preparation, tax planning, holding company structuring, and a variety of other tax services.
Contact us to discuss how we can help make your personal or small business tax season easier.