
How long does it take to file taxes? Time to file online, yourself, and more
Key Takeaways
- The timeframes for filing taxes can vary greatly depending on how simple or complex your tax return is. Whether you file the tax return yourself or have an accountant or tax professional do it also impacts how long the process takes.
- A simple tax return is generally straightforward, with no itemized deductions, a single source of income, and standard deductions; a complex tax return involves far more information, including multiple sources of income, the sale of a business, foreign investments, real estate, and many other types of transactions and scenarios.
- Other factors that impact the time it takes to file taxes are how organized you are heading into tax prep, whether you do the taxes yourself or use a professional service, and whether you’re filing an amendment.
- A few ways to speed up the tax filing process include electronically filing (e-filing), carefully reviewing your tax return for accuracy, and preparing in advance.
- A variety of mistakes can delay the tax filing process. To avoid potential delays, be sure to verify your information is correct, double-check deduction and credit numbers for accuracy, and file your taxes on time.
Factors That Affect How Long It Takes to File Taxes
How to Speed Up Your Tax Filing Process
Common Tax Filing Mistakes to Avoid
Timeframes for filing taxes
With tax season just around the corner, many people wonder how long it takes to file taxes. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, as the time it takes to file taxes can vary depending on a number of factors. These include how easy or complex your tax return is as well as how you decide to prepare your tax return.
- Simple tax return: If your tax return is straightforward and doesn’t involve much more than inputting the income information from your W-2 form, deductions, and interest, it can probably be completed in a timeframe of as little as a couple of hours.
- Complex tax return: On the other hand, if there are multiple incomes, transactions, properties, and other factors involved, your tax return will likely take far longer to complete. This could require several hours or even a couple of days.
- Self-preparing vs. using a tax professional: If your tax return is relatively simple, self-preparation with the help of tax software can be an option. Most tax software programs are very intuitive and can guide you through the process without much hassle. For more complex tax returns, it’s often recommended you use a tax professional who is an expert in all things tax-related. This can cost you more, but it may be worth the expense if your tax return is complicated or you are uncomfortable filing your own return.
According to the IRS, the average taxpayer who does not file business returns spends around nine hours on their tax return; those who do file business returns spend an average of 24 hours on theirs. This includes time spent recordkeeping, planning, submitting forms, and more. Overall, the average taxpayer spends around 13 hours on their tax returns. That number may cause your jaw to drop–keep in mind, however, that includes an entire year’s worth of recordkeeping and preparation. The actual time spent filling out the tax return will be much, much less.
If you’re using an accountant or other tax professional, it will probably take them between a few hours and a few days to complete your tax return depending on the complexity of the return as well as their schedules. At Sun Loan, our tax pros can handle most tax returns in just a couple of hours in person; if you decide to drop off your documents, we’re usually finished within a couple of business days. Using a tax pro can be very helpful–just remember that tax season is the busiest time of year for them and that they likely are dealing with several tax returns at once.
Simple vs. complex tax returns
Now let’s look at what makes a tax return simple or complex.
- What is a simple tax return? A simple tax return is the most basic type of tax return, which generally involves your W-2 income, standard deductions, no itemized deductions, limited interest and dividend income, unemployment income, and, in some cases, earned income tax credit, child tax credits, and student loan deductions.
- What is a complex tax return? A complex tax return typically involves a variety of income sources, expenses, and deductions. Here are some ways to tell whether your tax return is considered complex:
- Multiple sources of income
- Operation of your own business
- Itemized deductions
- Inheritance or gift(s) received
- Foreign accounts/investments
- Marriage/divorce
- Estates and trusts
- Capital gains and losses
- Real estate/rentals
- Sale of business
- Corporations, exempt businesses, and partnerships
- And more
If your tax return includes some of the above, it’s worth investing in an accountant or professional tax service to complete your tax return for you. Not only will a professional maximize your tax refund (or minimize your tax bill), but they will also save you the headache of figuring out a complex tax return–not to mention eliminate the potential of you making a costly error.
Factors that affect how long it takes to file taxes
Every person’s tax situation is different, which is why it takes everyone a different amount of time to file their taxes. But there are other factors involved as well–such as how organized you are, whether amendments are involved, and more.
Organizing your documents
Heading into tax season, it’s important to gather and organize all the necessary documents to file your tax return. This includes W-2 and 1099 forms from your employer as well as your own business (if this applies), deductions, and interest statements. All of these should be mailed to you at least a couple of months ahead of the April tax filing deadline. Keeping your documents organized can help you save time when you file your taxes because everything will be ready to go when you need it. Being unorganized will only delay the process since you might have to look for and track down certain documents.
Filing amendments
If you make a mistake on a tax return that you’ve already filed, the IRS lets you correct the mistake(s) by filing an amended tax return. Tax amendments are important if the correction results in an increase in the amount of tax you owe–filing the amendment helps you avoid potential interest and penalties on the underpayment. According to the IRS, you should allow 8 to 12 weeks for your Form 1040-X tax amendment to be processed. However, in some cases, processing could take up to 16 weeks.
How to speed up your tax filing process
While it’s important to be thorough when filing your taxes, it’s always nice to speed up the process. Here are a few tips to save some time on tax preparation:
Prepare in advance
To get yourself ready, take a few moments to prepare ahead of time. Put together a checklist of all the documents you’ll need for your tax return, then check them off as you organize them either on your computer (most employers, banks, lenders, and other institutions will send you electronic copies of all your necessary tax documents) or in a folder with paper documents you received in the mail.
E-File your return
Electronically filing, also known as e-filing, is an efficient way to send your tax return to the IRS–in fact, it’s instant. Once you’ve reviewed your tax return, one click of a button forwards the return to the IRS. This is a big time-saving alternative to printing and mailing your return, which takes at least a few days.
Double-check before filing
A mistake on your tax return can result in major delays when it comes to processing the return and sending a refund if you’re eligible for one. In some cases, you might even have to file a tax amendment (as mentioned earlier) to correct a mistake, which can set you back months. That’s why it’s important to double-check your tax return before you file it. Fixing an error on the front end will save you significant time on the back end.
E-filing vs. paper filing
As you know, the differences between e-filing and traditional paper filing are their levels of speed, convenience, and accuracy. Let’s look at both.
E-filing
- Advantages: E-filing offers lightning-quick processing of tax returns, which leads to significantly faster tax refunds and less risk of missing deadlines. Filing electronically also helps you avoid mistakes by performing accuracy checks of your tax return before you send it.
- Time required: For very simple, straightforward tax returns, completing the return and processing it electronically can take as little as an hour or up to a couple of hours.
Paper filing
- Advantages: For those without internet access, manual paper filing is obviously the way to go. Even some people who do have internet access prefer the old-fashioned paper-based method of filing taxes because it’s familiar and more comfortable for them.
- Time required: Even a simple, straightforward tax return can take weeks to process. First, it has to make its way to the IRS by mail, which might be a few days. And once the IRS processes the return, they have to mail a refund check (if you’re expecting a refund), which can take weeks.
There’s no right or wrong way to file your tax return–it’s simply a matter of what you’re more comfortable doing, and whether you prefer any potential refund making its way to you quickly or after some weeks have passed.
Common tax filing mistakes to avoid
We’re all human. Whether we’re filing a paper return or using tax software to help us through the process, we all make mistakes. Here are a few common errors to keep an eye out for so the processing of your tax return isn’t delayed.
Incorrect or missing information
Always double-check–or even triple-check–to make sure your personal information is entered correctly and that the numbers from your tax forms match what you’re entering into the return. This includes Social Security numbers, deduction amounts, and even your address. While tax prep software can help identify some mistakes during its accuracy checks, it’s not perfect. So be sure to review all of your information and to include all necessary forms when sending your tax return to be processed. Any mistakes or missing information can lead to delays.
Failure to file on time
Tax day is April 15, 2025 (and is usually the same day every year, barring holidays or weekends). This is the deadline for you to file your tax return. Anything mailed or electronically filed beyond this date is considered late unless you are filing for an extension or have some type of exception. Filing your taxes on time is extremely important. Why?
Because the IRS will assess a Failure to File penalty against you, and that could be costly. Here is the IRS’ explanation: “We calculate the Failure to File penalty based on how late you file your tax return and the amount of unpaid tax as of the original payment due date (not the extension due date). Unpaid tax is the total tax required to be shown on your return minus amounts paid through withholding, estimated tax payments, and allowed refundable credits. The Failure to File penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late. The penalty won’t exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.” The IRS charges interest, too, which increases the amount you owe until you pay off the full balance. This can result in hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in penalties.
Miscalculating deductions or credits
Again, we all make mistakes. Unfortunately, we sometimes pay for those mistakes. In the case of miscalculating your tax deductions or credits, you may not necessarily pay financially, but you may have to make corrections by filing a tax amendment, which will result in potentially long delays in processing your tax return.
Streamlining your tax filing experience
As tax season quickly approaches, it’s time to start organizing and determining whether you’ll need assistance with your taxes. If you do, Sun Loan is here to help! Not only can we assist you at tax time, but our friendly professionals provide tax help all year long. And when it’s time to file your tax return, we make it convenient for you by offering three easy ways to prep: online, in-person, or drop-off at your local Sun Loan branch. With more than 20 years of tax preparation experience, the experts at your branch will make sure your return is accurate and that you get the biggest tax refund possible! Visit https://www.sunloan.com/taxes/ to learn more about our tax prep services and how simple we make it for you.
FAQs about tax filing time
How long does it take to file taxes?
Overall, the average taxpayer spends around 13 hours on their tax returns. Keep in mind, that includes recordkeeping and preparation. The actual time spent filling out the tax return is significantly less. This time will also vary depending on whether you do the return yourself or hire a tax professional for assistance.
Can I file taxes in one day?
Again, this will vary depending on how complicated your tax return is and whether you do it yourself. Most simple tax returns can be completed within one day using tax software as long as you have your information and documents prepared. If you have a more complicated tax return, you may not finish it one day. And if you require professional assistance, you’re more likely to get your completed return filed within a few hours, a couple of days, or possibly a couple of weeks depending on how you decide to file your taxes.
What if I file late?
April 15, 2025 is tax day, which is the deadline for you to file your tax return. Anything mailed or electronically filed beyond this date is considered late unless you are filing for an extension or have some type of exception. And when you file late, the IRS can level a Failure to File penalty against you, which is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a tax return is late–plus interest. This can get costly rather quickly, so it’s important to file your taxes on time.
How long will it take to get my refund?
According to the IRS, if you file a complete and accurate paper tax return, your refund should be issued in about six to eight weeks from the date they receive your return. If you file your return electronically, your refund should be issued in less than three weeks–even faster when you choose direct deposit.