Why should you file your tax return early when you expect a refund?

For a couple of reasons.

1. If you have allowed the government to use your money interest-free from the day you overpaid your taxes, you continue to lose the value of that money for each day you have not yet received it.

2. There are people who file bogus tax returns in your name, making claims for refunds that you will never see, costing billions of dollars every year, and making it very difficult for you to obtain a timely refund.