So, you’ve leveraged your medical assistant school experience and landed a good-paying job. Now that the first year of your employment in the medical assistant role is over, you’re facing tax season and you may be hearing some conflicting advice with respect to when best to file your return.
On one hand, as this article from Credit.com suggests, you should consider filing early as possible before the April 15 deadline. According to this piece, the recent hacking thefts of millions of social security numbers is putting record numbers of filers at risk. In order to preempt a fraudulent tax return being filed by thieves who’ve stolen your Social Security ID, Credit.com urges filers to complete and submit their returns ASAP, beating the crooks to the punch.
On the other hand, according to Forbes magazine, there are a number of good reasons why filers should never rush to submit a return. The crux of their argument is that filing amendments to a previously filed return is often a red flag that can prompt the IRS to consider you for a tax audit. Forbes suggests adopting a “measure twice, cut once” attitude toward filing.
Depending on your tax profile, it may make more sense to file quickly and minimize the identity theft potential. This is a good option if you have only one source of W-2 income and take the standard deduction. If you also have a sideline business or have done 1099 contracting; or if you have lots of itemized deductions, you may be better off taking the more pensive and cautious approach outlined by Forbes.
This blogger is NOT a tax attorney and none of this is meant to be taken as financial advice. However, these two opposing strategies are a good starting point for filers to consider which strategy is best suited toward their particular tax profile. So, you’ve leveraged your medical assistant school experience and landed a good-paying job. Now that the first year of your employment in the medical assistant role is over, you’re facing tax season and you may be hearing some conflicting advice with respect to when best to file your return.
On one hand, as this article from Credit.com suggests, you should consider filing early as possible before the April 15 deadline. According to this piece, the recent hacking thefts of millions of social security numbers is putting record numbers of filers at risk. In order to preempt a fraudulent tax return being filed by thieves who’ve stolen your Social Security ID, Credit.com urges filers to complete and submit their returns ASAP, beating the crooks to the punch.
On the other hand, according to Forbes magazine, there are a number of good reasons why filers should never rush to submit a return. The crux of their argument is that filing amendments to a previously filed return is often a red flag that can prompt the IRS to consider you for a tax audit. Forbes suggests adopting a “measure twice, cut once” attitude toward filing.
Depending on your tax profile, it may make more sense to file quickly and minimize the identity theft potential. This is a good option if you have only one source of W-2 income and take the standard deduction. If you also have a sideline business or have done 1099 contracting; or if you have lots of itemized deductions, you may be better off taking the more pensive and cautious approach outlined by Forbes.
This blogger is NOT a tax attorney and none of this is meant to be taken as financial advice. However, these two opposing strategies are a good starting point for filers to consider which strategy is best suited toward their particular tax profile. Leave a Reply