Comments on: Tax Filing Procrastination is Expensive!

By: Yana

Yana — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:52:23 +0000

You’d think that the ones who have to pay would be waiting. I think people just hate to do their taxes. We pay, but I like getting it over with ASAP, so I do it as soon as I can.

By: Tim Hawkins

Tim Hawkins — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:42:03 +0000

Just another reason to set your withholdings accurately so you don’t over pay, and you don’t under pay. Then, the issue is irrelevant.

By: Corporate Barbarian

Corporate Barbarian — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:10:44 +0000

We just received our refund checks yesterday, and we filed in February. They will pay for part of our vacation this year.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:44:03 +0000

Here’s where the stat is from:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=202537,00.html

By: Miss M @ M is for Money

Miss M @ M is for Money — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:29:59 +0000

I’m just filing mine right now, I did a prelim run a few months ago and didn’t feel like finishing them up. I’m a procrastinator. I’m getting a small refund from the feds and I owe the state $100. I try to adjust my withholding so that the balance is zero at filing time, big refunds are a pet peeve of mine.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:25:24 +0000

If you owe, that’s a different story, but I would imagine the vast majority get rebates and so waiting doesn’t help.

By: FupDuckTV

FupDuckTV — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:04:27 +0000

I’d be curious to see how many tax refund checks are never actually cashed. Any idea on this statistic?

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:57:50 +0000

As someone who owed taxes this year, I filed yesterday. That’s not to say that I didn’t have the “tax forms” ready (I file online), I just wait to see if I can figure out any other deductions. If you have it ready to go, filing is just a click away – but after the meltdown of one of the online filing sites a couple of years back, I don’t wait until the very last second!

By: Fairy Dust

Fairy Dust — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:43:00 +0000

I file our federal return early because we almost always have a refund coming. State, though, is almost always money due, so that return sits on my desk till the evening of 4/14

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:39:20 +0000

Hmmm that’s an interesting question, let me find out.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:38:17 +0000

Is that average the average of all tax payers or the average of those receiving refunds?

I wish there were stats that compared the average refund versus the average refund of only those who file in the last week. I imagine the average among late filers is lower because late filers are more likely to be ones who owe (which is really paradoxical since you can file at one point and pay at a later date).