It's Time to Get Serious About Tax Season: Get Organized And Get Filing

Olney Daily Mail

You're three months away from the tax filing deadline for 2015. Is your return anywhere near ready? If you didn't start making year-end tax plans before December 31, it might be worth your while to start gathering up all your documents now and getting organized. The Internal Revenue Service began accepting tax returns on Tuesday, though technically you could have prepared a return on paper or through tax software and submitted it earlier. However, the IRS wouldn't accept them until January 19. Filing this early makes it less likely that you'll be a victim of tax fraud, since someone would have to sneak in a return with a fraudulent refund amount before yours arrives, but it also requires everyone to play along. If you haven't been collecting pay stubs all year, you'll have to wait on W-2 or 1099 forms from your employer. Those don't have to reach taxpayers until Feb. 1, which almost guarantees you'll kick off tax season behind the pack.