subject: How To Get A Rapid Refund From Your Federal Income Tax [print this page] Many people want to get their tax refunds absolutely as soon as possible. That"s understandable - tax refunds often amount to a significant chunk of change and after the massive spending of the holidays, everyone"s bank account is in need of a little replenishing.
In past years, many taxpayers have been duped into applying for refund anticipation loans, also known as RALs.
Take note: a RAL is not the same thing as a refund. A RAL is money paid to you by a company in expectation of the tax refund you will receive. Then when you actually do file your return, your real refund goes to that company instead of to you.
Even though RALs allow you to get money earlier than you might otherwise be able to, they are a bad idea. The companies that provide the loans also charge exorbitant fees and interest rates that mean you receive much less money than you would in your refund.
The IRS now discourages RALs and most companies and banks have ceased to provide them. That means the best way to get your tax refund as rapidly as possible is to e-file your tax return as soon as possible. That way you can still get your money quickly, but you won"t be charged excessive fees and interest.
For the upcoming tax season, e-file opens on January 22, 2013. That"s the earliest you can file. If you e-file and request a direct deposit you should get your refund money in 10 to 21 days (unless of course there"s a problem with your return and it needs to be audited, etc.) That means you could have your tax refund as early as the beginning of February.
If you absolutely, positively must have your refund as soon as possible, some tax preparation services, especially those online, will allow you to prepare your return before January 22. The company will save your return in its system and then file it as soon as the IRS opens e-file. Doing this will ensure that get your money as quickly as possible.
Which brings me to my next point - it"s essential that you both e-file and request that your refund is direct deposited. E-file is safer, greener, and more accurate than paper filing, not to mention faster. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to get a refund from paper filing. Compare that with the less than 3 weeks it takes to get your refund from e-filing. Getting your refund direct deposited means that you don"t have to wait several business days for a check to arrive in the mail.
The moral of the story? Stay away from RALs that can cost you a lot of money and e-file your return with a reputable tax preparation company as soon after January 22nd as possible.
