7 Steps to a Faster Refund

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The sooner you get your money back from the IRS, the better, so start now. Get your taxes done faster and more accurately with these 7 steps.

If you want to get your taxes in early and get your refund quickly, here are Schnepper’s Seven Strategies to getting those dollars in your pockets ASAP. Here’s what you have to do:

1. Get started
The first step is the hardest. Stop thinking about it and get moving. Until you actually start your return, you’ll never get to finish it. That’s probably going to slow down your refund.

If you don’t have all your numbers, just put your name and address on the form. It will get you in the mindset to move forward.

Your first step is to break the inertia.Your money, fast.
File your taxes online.
It's easy at H&R Block.



2. Accumulate the data
When the holidays are over, you'll need those numbers. By the end of January, make sure you've gotten W-2s and any statements from your brokers and banks. You’ll receive 1099 Forms for any interest, dividends, and sales of stock. Your mortgage company will send you a Form 1098 for any interest and real-estate taxes paid. Get those statements together and review the numbers. They’re not always right.

3. Put the numbers in IRS categories
Neither the IRS nor your CPA is going to add up those numbers for you. Well, maybe the CPA. Several years ago, a psychiatrist on the Main Line near Philadelphia paid me $150 an hour to open his mail because he couldn’t be bothered. In any case, don’t even suggest it to the IRS.

You’re going to want to have totals for the income and deduction categories the IRS provides. You’ll need that final “numberâ€