In the United States, most federal and state income taxes are due on April 15. A lot of people put off doing their taxes. According to the 2024 Tax Procrastinators report, 29 percent of Americans procrastinate on their taxes. (I would have guessed that figure was higher!) I’ll never forget the time I had to take my tax return to the main post office in Brooklyn, N.Y. at 11 pm on April 15 in order to get my envelope postmarked by the deadline. (This was before online filing.) The place was packed with people actually filling out their tax forms!
Anyway, I want to encourage you not to delay doing your taxes (or taking your information to a tax professional). If you are owed a refund, the sooner you file, the sooner you can give those dollars a job. If you owe money on your taxes, figuring that out now gives more time to budget the money to pay the bill.
Last year, I waited until the last minute and I ended up owing thousands. I had a miserable day finding all that money in my budget (and I blogged out how YNAB saved the day). This year, I filed on February 29 after finding out I’m getting a refund from both the federal and state governments. Today, I received my state income tax refund–and it’s only March 7! (In case you’re wondering, the refund went straight to my Future Months category as I work toward getting back to being a month ahead.)
If you’ve been delaying doing your taxes, I urge you to get started today. Figure out what the first step is: Maybe it’s gathering up your tax documents. Then take that step to get the ball rolling. A month from now you’ll be glad you did!
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