Procrastination Demon Beaten By Early Filing

To Procrastinate or Not to Procrastinate is the question.

Procrastination is the real demon of preparing our taxes.  The beginning of tax season marks early sighting of the real Procrastination demon.  Temptations for procrastinating in filing taxes have already hit the 2019 Season taxpayers hard.

And the procrastination demon does not hesitate to take advantage of the recent government closing as a big excuse for not filing early.

Well, the government is open now and this blog is not about that.  It’s about some real benefits of filing your taxes early.  The procrastination demon “sounds” reasonable in your head or even in the voices of your friends.  They say, “Look how long it is until April 15.”

Procrastination:  the Enemy of Good Tax Preparation Habits

We have to remind you and them that the April 15 deadline means you have 76 to days to collect all your paperwork, see your accountant,

Procrastination is every taxdpayer's temptation.
To Procrastinate or File Taxes Early; that’s the question.

review your strategies, find the proper forms, fill them out, hopefully, see your accountant again, double check them and submit them in appropriately flawless style.  At Gavrilov & Co Accounting and Tax Services, we believe this leaves you no time to spend worrying or putting it off.

Experts at The Motley Fool put it this way, “Tax season is here once again, and while it may be tempting to put off dealing with your taxes until we get a little closer to the April 15 deadline…” And they add significantly, “…you’re usually better off filing your tax return as soon as possible.” 

Filing Your Taxes Early: Maximize 4 Major Benefits

We hope you “got” that, dear reader.  Our top benefit for defeating the tax devil tendency for procrastination is that you free yourself of largely unnecessary anxiety.  Simply getting the yearly chore off your desk will clear your mind of worry.

Yes, the relaxed and refreshed tax squad at Gavrilov& Co has the cure for the procrastination blues.  Avoid the hours, even days of needless worrying:  File Early.

This is a special cure which will chase away days of anxiety.  Yes, you’ll get this necessary yearly chore off your desk sooner and breathe a sigh of relief.  But did you know filing early might bring you a bevy of other benefits?  To dispel any devils of procrastination that might be skulking around your home or office, let’s take a look at four benefits of filing early.

1.  The Tax Refund Cometh Sooner

You will enjoy benefits to your tax situation by filing early.
It’s No Top Secret: There are Benefits to Filing Taxes Early.

To make our point simply, you’ll get your tax refund sooner.  Undeniably, the best thing about filing taxes is getting refunds.

Basically, file early so you can pop that money into your retirement fund or buy that single big-ticket item of your dreams.

2.  Early Filing vs. Tax Identity Theft

Early filing will not only chase away the devil of procrastination but also diminishes the possibility you will become a victim of another devil:  tax identity theft.

“Tax identity theft is where an identity thief files a fraudulent tax return in your name in order to collect your tax return.  The experts add, “This can cause problems when you go to file your real tax return and it may even prevent you from obtaining your tax refund.”

Tax Time is a high time for the art of identity theft.  If you procrastinate, you will be deeper into the hottest season for frauds, schemes, and scams.  The worst possible scenario is that an identity thief gets your social security number, opens an account, files a return and gets credit in your name.

Then they smoothly scoop up your tax refund.

So, protect yourself from the big invasion of identity thieves in the coming weeks.  You see, a thief cannot file if you have already filed the real tax documents.  You are safe.

3.  Get Some Time To Save, Even if You Owe Taxes

So you figure your taxes and discover you did not take enough money out of your paycheck to cover them.  Now you will have a tax bill.  As your accountants, Gavrilov & Co hopes you have budgeted for this possibility. However, even if you did not plan for a tax bill, now at least you know about it. Did you know that even though you file early, you need not pay until April 15?

You will be able to use part of our 76 days to make a plan and save up instead of worrying in the wasteland of procrastination.

4.  Get Tax Squad Help To Beat Procrastination Now

Right now you know it is easier to make tax-planning appointments, book phone calls, and send emails to your tax professional.  Early filing

Procrastination Won't Get You A Quick Refund.
This little piggy knows the best part of filing early. File Early and Get Your Refund Quicker.

means you can call on your tax professional before the seasonal rush.  It’s just easier to do this when you start early.  That means you don’t have to fight that demon of procrastination.

This benefit is especially useful if you are a business owner.  You not only want to file, but you want to optimize your filing to include every valuable deduction possible.  That takes some time and some record checking.  Instead of worrying as the procrastination demon suggests, use the time to have your tax professional check your taxes.  Thus, your business will not miss a crucial deduction.

Life as a Tax Pro:  Filing Early and an Urban Myth

Our tax professionals have all heard the myth that filing as late as possible reduces your chances of an audit.  We don’t know who started this myth, but we all know it is truly just a big fake story.  Truly, an urban tax myth.  Experts say flatly, “Extending your return will not reduce your chance of an audit.”

And yet, our tax squad have all had clients who filed at the last minute, still got audited, and then cried, “But I waited until the last minute—so, how could this happen?”  However, they were never sure where they got the mysterious advice that delaying in filing would prevent an audit.

How they started the myth remains unsolved.  But we can show you the definite and solid ways that filing early can help your tax profile.  You still might suffer an audit, but early filing won’t be the reason.

To Procrastinate or Not to Procrastinate…

Bankrate.com states that the best strategy is to:

  • figure out why you don’t want to finish your taxes,
  • deal with that filing resistance,
  • and then buckle down.  Get your tax return to the IRS. “Whatever the final result, you’ll be done with your taxes.”

It’s a fact of life that as the deadline approaches, your accountant will become intensely and some would say, insanely, busy.  If you get with your tax professional now instead of procrastinating, there is no doubt, you will find him or her more relaxed, with a little less on their desks.

You’ll merit meticulous attention and laser sharp focus.  We’ve heard that from some tax pros, you’ll even get a cup of coffee.  Why be a part of a crowd of harried and habitual late-comers?

Filing Early is Good for Everybody

When you get ready to file your taxes early, your friendly tax professionals are likely to have a little less on their desks.  “That way, they’ll be able to get your taxes filed quickly and correctly so you can start looking toward the next year.”  Yes, you’ll even have time to talk about next year’s best strategies.

Behavior Psychologists and Tax Pros on Not Demonizing Procrastination.  Mary Lamia, psychologist and author of ‘What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination, Emotions, and Success,” divided up our procrastination style.

Mary Lamia Classifies Procrastinators

1.  “There are task-driven people, and those are people who for example with their taxes…”  She explains how these are the admirable folks

Putting things off is not good or evil . It's Your Reaction to doing it.
Some People Work Better Under The Pressure Of An Immediate Deadline

“who always have completed tasks ahead of time.”

2.   Alternatively, her studies also found people who only react to deadlines.  She explained, “I call them deadline-driven procrastinators, and they are activated by deadlines rather than the tasks themselves.”

3.  Surprisingly, both procrastinators and non-procrastinators can be excellent, successful people.  It depends on how they respond to the presence of deadlines and the anxiety associated with them.

Fascinating Research, but…

We find the research fascinating.  However, Gavrilov & Co have helped countless procrastinators through tax filing.  And they always say, “If only I had known this would go so smoothly, I would have come sooner.  I could have saved myself so much tension and stress.”  Thus, in spite of the psychological studies, we cannot help but sense a tiny procrastination demon slithering out from under a pile of unclassified receipts.  He says in Gollum’s character voice from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, “This-s-s-s-s can wait until tomorrow, my precious-s-ssss.

Ultimately, think about whichever emotional or psychological reaction drives you:

  • the tax tasks in front of you
  • or the hovering deadline.

Whichever you choose, the Gavrilov & Co tax squad will be here to help you.

So, set aside some constructive tax-planning and filing time.  We’ll help you chase away the real or imagined demon procrastination.  Gavrilov & Co is here to assist you in finding even more benefits to filing early.

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