ROCKFORD (WIFR) --Even though the deadline for filing taxes is about four months away, tax professionals say getting a head start now will benefit us in the long run.

The IRS will begin accepting tax returns tomorrow Jan. 17. The biggest advantage is getting our tax refunds back in a week rather than six weeks later. By filing early, we also find out sooner if money is owed the IRS, allowing more time to save up. tax professionals say waiting to the last minute to file can be stressful so it's important to know everything required before filing our taxes.

Glenn R. Greenberg, Professional Accounting and Tax Service said, "W2 statements, their 10-99's, interest income that they received. If it's a business return, they need to start gathering up all their expenses that they paid out last year, so they need to get all their data together prior to filing their return so they can make sure they get what's due to them back to them."

Normally filing taxes has the deadline of April 15, but this year it's been extended to April 17 because of a government holiday. According to the Rasmussen survey done in 2010 the IRS reported 30 percent of the tax returns were filed before the end of Feb.