Taking your time often is a good idea when it comes to tax filing. A slower, more deliberate approach to your Form 1040 can help ensure it is completed and filed correctly. (Photo by Kay Bell)
The 2026 tax filing season hasn’t even officially started (that happens next Monday, Jan. 26), and some folks already are procrastinating.
That’s understandable. Even when you’re expecting a refund, the filing process can, for many of us, be intimidating.
But there are other explanations aside from the hassle of filling out Form 1040 for putting off your annual tax filing obligation. For many taxpayers, a deliberate filing approach can work to your ultimate tax benefit.
Here are six good reasons to wait to file your taxes.
1. To allow all your tax statements to arrive. We’re almost at the Jan. 31 deadline (actually Feb. 2 this year, since 1/31 is on Saturday) that most tax statement providers must meet. But even though it’s the law, some won’t make that deadline.
The reality is that some third-party reporting document issuers also are procrastinators. Their statements trickle in later than they should. One of my 1099 issuers sent an email last week letting me know that I could download the form in early February. So, obviously I won’t be among this year’s early filers.
It’s frustrating, especially if that one document is all that’s standing in your filing way, but you need to wait. These documents not only have data necessary to properly fill out a tax return, but they also are copied to the Internal Revenue Service.
But if you do your taxes without the final information and enter what you think it will be, but the final official statement has a different amount, the IRS will notice. And it will delay processing of your return, and issuing any refund, until the amounts are reconciled.
You’ll need even more filing patience if you get any of the tax documents that aren’t on the Jan. 31 issuance schedule. In fact, these usually aren’t distributed until well into the filing season or even beyond, such as the K-1 form sent to partnerships, LLCs, and S corporations. They don’t have to be issued until March 15, and extensions can push this date to mid-September.
So, if you need a K-1 to file, be patient. there’s no way to complete your tax return until you get that statement.
2. To ensure you have all other tax information. Those formal tax statements you should get by the end of this week are just part of your filing information. Sometimes in order to report your accurate earnings amounts, you’ll need to check all your financial records, such as bank accounts or online payment apps.
For example, you got some 1099-NEC forms for gigs you picked up to supplement your main wages. These forms were sent to you because you earned $600 or more last year.
Even if your earnings weren’t enough to trigger reporting statements, you still are legally required to report those amounts on your return.
A check of your bank statements, for example, could jog your memory of that $599 your neighbor paid you for the new shelf you handmade to fit the awkward space in his garage. Your complete records also will help you claim all the allowable expenses that can reduce the tax you owe on these entrepreneurial earnings.
Also make sure you have all the details on potential tax breaks, such as medical expenses or charitable donations if you’re still itemizing and claiming these costs. Or the expenses you paid for the care of your young children so you could work. You need these amounts — as well as the caregiver’s tax identification number — to claim the child and dependent care credit.
3. To sort through your personal tax complexities. If you’re one of the taxpayers who gets lots of tax statements, that’s an indication your return is more complex. And the more complicated your taxes are, the greater the chances that you’ll screw them up if you’re in a hurry to file.
If you have more involved taxes — such as the previously mentioned side gigs or your own fulltime business or investments or a big, messy family — you’ll probably need time to sort through all the related tax implications.
Your personal circumstances also might have changed last year. You said “I do” or “so long” to a spouse, added to your family, bought a house. All these life changes could have an effect on your filing.
And even if your personal and tax life stayed the same, changes to the tax code could cause some extra filing agita this year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) added new tax provisions, some that are retroactive (and discussed in this post) to the 2025 tax year.
These complexities likely will require some time to work through. They also mean that while it’s a good idea to start your return early, don’t rush to finish it. Take your time reviewing your tax choices and carefully checking your 1040 and associated material before sending it to the IRS.
4. To give you time to find a tax professional. If number three applies to you, this could be the year that you decide tax software isn’t enough. You want and need some face-to-face tax return guidance from an experienced, reputable tax professional.
Since we’re just at the beginning of the annual tax season, you have some time to find the tax professional that fits your needs. But by starting that tax pro search now, with the official start of the 2026 filing season less than a week away, you pretty much guarantee that your Form 1040 will be filed later.
Tax pros currently are working with clients who came to them well before filing season started, so you’re going to the end of the line. Your new tax adviser might even recommend getting a filing extension. But at least you realized you needed professional tax help early and are in the queue.
5. To make sure you understand your return. I know, most of us just want our tax return filing over with, regardless of whether we’re getting a refund or must pay. And a lot of people are interested only in that bottom line. They don’t care how it was achieved. But you should care about what’s on your Form 1040 and why.
The reason? You, the taxpayer signing the return, either via pen on a paper form or with an electronic signature, are attesting to its accuracy. That places any legal ramification for the return’s entries squarely on you, the taxpayer, and your spouse, too, if you’re filing jointly.
So, if you have questions about why a deduction was or wasn’t claimed or how come your tax bill was bigger this year than last or anything else on your 1040, ask.
Ask your tax software’s help option if that’s how you’re doing your taxes. Ask your tax-preparing spouse or other relative doing you a filing favor. Ask the tax professional you hired.
And ask and ask and ask until it’s totally clear. When you’re satisfied with the answer, and only then, sign your return and file it.
6. To get your filing, federal and state, right the first time. All of this post’s previous five filing procrastination situations ultimately lead to one conclusion. Once is enough when it comes to doing your taxes.
But if you’re too eager to file your return, you might have to do it again because in your rush you didn’t include necessary information or made a mistake. Sure, amending a tax return is not that difficult, especially since the 1040-X now can be done electrically. But really? You want to do this all twice?
If you also file states taxes, which most U.S. taxpayers do, the potential for mistakes doubles, since most state returns rely on entries from your federal filing. When that duplicated data is wrong, you’ll have to re-do that state tax return, too.
But by letting your original federal tax return sit there a bit before you file it, you’ll give yourself time to take another look. A 1040 mistake can be suddenly obvious after you’ve taken a tax filing pause and followed up with fresh eyes before filing it.
So, take all the time you need to file completely and correctly.
That’s when you have all the final tax statements you need. Or when you are confident you understand what’s on your 1040. Or when you can get a spot on your tax pro’s schedule. Or all of the above.
Whatever the reason for adopting a snail as your tax filing spirit animal, embrace it. And if your best tax filing time is closer to April 15, that’s fine.
