Why Wait for Your Tax Refund? Get It Sooner by Cutting Out the IRS

Alamy Looking forward to filing your 2013 taxes so you can get that big, fat tax refund check you've been waiting for? You're not alone. But does the idea of that check make you quite as happy when you remember that it represents money you never really had to pay in the first place? Unless you're getting back more than you paid in (via refundable tax credits), your refund is simply Uncle Sam paying you back money you loaned him, interest-free, by overpaying your taxes throughout the year. It's your money -- so why not keep control of more of it? Whatever it is you're looking forward to using your annual refund check for, you could do it earlier if you weren't forcing yourself to wait for the government to process your refund first. How to Keep Your Money In Your Wallet You're in control of how much money you send to Uncle Sam. Your goal should be to pay what you owe when you owe it, while being sure to pay at least enough and quickly enough to be covered by one of the IRS's "safe harbor" provisions. As long as you're covered by at least one safe harbor rule, you can settle the rest of your taxes by the April 15 deadline without any additional interest or penalties. Adjusting how much you pay in advance depends on how you pay your taxes throughout the year: If you directly pay your taxes quarterly, you should already be using IRS Form 1040-ES to estimate and pay what you owe. If your employer withholds taxes on your behalf, you can send your payroll department an updated form W-4. Likewise, if a major source of your income is a pension or annuity, you can send the pension administrator an updated form W-4P to update your withholdings from the pension. If you withdraw money from an IRA, your IRA custodian should provide you with a form to use to adjust your withholding. The Safe Harbor Rules