Benefit of filing early?

[Timeofyearagain]

Is there any benefit of filing early?

[SteamTrain]

@Timeofyearagain 

Not particularly.   Many tax forms you may need to enter, aren't sent out until sometime late January or early Feb (one set of mine isn't getting issued from Fidelity until this coming weekend).

Those who "TRY" to file early get frustrated with bugs in the software...unreleased tax forms...and even if they do succeed to file early, they suddenly find a week or two later that they missed a tax form that came in the mail later...then they're stuck with messy "Amendment" preparations.

AND Late Feb or First week in  March is just safer in letting all the earlybirds find the software bugs that need fixing.

[mesquitebean]

By "early" did you mean early January before the IRS opens for the year in late January, did you mean just early in general after the IRS opens?   As @SteamTrain mentioned, filing in early January before the IRS opens can create problems for some early filers and can delay processing or require an amended return which can take weeks to process

As for "any" benefit, other than "potentially" receiving a refund sooner (if all goes well), here's another benefit:

   If one is worried about ID theft, then one benefit of efiling soon after the IRS opens would be to prevent someone else from efiling a return (or at least making it more difficult for them.)    While that may help to some extent, the best way to protect one's tax return is to start using an IP PIN (6-digit Identity Protection PIN) each year.  The IRS does allow people to opt-in to that program voluntarily.  Once opted-in, you have to retrieve a new one every January from your online IRS account.  Those who voluntarily opt in can typically also opt out, using the IRS online account.

NOTE:  People who file early and have the Earned Income Credit (EIC) or the ACTC (Additional Child Tax Credit) can still have a delay in their processing.   By law (PATH Act), the IRS cannot start to release those refunds for those with those credits until February 16.   So many with those credits will not receive their refunds until late February/early March.