"Why file early?" is a good question----filing early is often not the best plan. As you have discovered, if you are getting EIC or additional CTC your refund is going to be held anyway. And all the while it is being held, if you discover that you missed entering a W-2, forgot to enter a dependent, etc. etc. etc. your return is sitting in the IRS system where you cannot do one thing to change it until they finish processing it. If you wait awhile and take your time to prepare your return and file later like in mid-February, there is a better chance that you will have all of the documents you needed and that you would not have rushed to file and made mistakes. And....it is ofter those "early" returns that end up under review and getting identity verification requests that delay your refund even more. We see a lot of posts from distressed users who file at the first possible moment and then end up waiting months for their refunds.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
