The silver lining to doing taxes for most people is getting a tax refund.
If you are feeling a money crunch these days, asking the IRS to directly deposit the refund in your bank account will speed things up.
When filing your taxes, it is important to remember that the date you file is only the starting process of getting money back from the IRS.
If you file at the last moment, like many do, then you need to take into account that your personal return is only one of a few hundred million returns being received by the Internal Revenue Service.
There are a couple of ways to speed up the payment of your tax refund.
Going with direct deposit definitely will cut the time by as much as two to three weeks.
It cuts out some of the process and printing time for checks at the IRS.
It also cuts out mailing time and the like.
Another way to speed up the refund period is by going with the electronic filing option for your tax return.
Computers are much faster at processing tax returns than going through the mail and the like.
If you select to file electronically and get a direct deposit of your refund, you can see turn around times of as little as two weeks to receive your tax refund.
Although getting a tax refund as quickly as possible would seem to make sense, some people have concerns.
One is a nervousness about giving the IRS a bank account number.
There is no risk.
The IRS can already access your bank account if it wants to.
The concept of privacy in the United States is dead for all intensive purposes.
A quick mention should be made regarding the value of a tax refund.
Yes, we all like getting them.
Who couldn't use an extra bit of cash? Well, there is a downside to a tax refund.
If you are getting back a sizable chunk of money, you need to reconsider your tax planning.
Why? Well, you are effectively giving the government a free loan throughout the year with that money.
Try to take less tax out of your paycheck so you pay yourself instead of Uncle Sam.