Five Ways to Speed Up Your Tax Refund

Michelle Maton, a financial planner with Chicago-based Aequus Wealth Management Resources, says clients often express concern about direct deposit. "I don't trust it," is a common refrain, she says. However, she recalls working with taxpayers who have either lost checks or inadvertently thrown them away -- and then had to obtain duplicates from the IRS.

4. Use Software if You Don't Consult a Preparer

Tax preparation software is a huge time saver, even for number-savvy individuals, says Bergstein of CCH. Programs such as Turbo Tax from Intuit(INTU Quote) or TaxCut from H&R Block(HRB Quote) typically handle most math computations, thereby minimizing the risk of errors that could prolong processing.

"A lot of people procrastinate because they just dread the thought of sitting down and staring at those tax forms and the nearly 100-page instruction manual to try to figure out where to start, let alone finish," Bergstein says. "Tax software that uses a straightforward interview format leads taxpayers through the process step-by-step, asking only information that's relevant to their situation."

5. Don't Wait Until the Last Day

"The earlier you file, the faster the turn-around," says Maton, the financial planner. Filing this week will result in a shorter processing time than filing on April 15, when the IRS has an even larger workload, she says. But filing earlier may not be possible for everyone. E-filers, however, receive a target date for when their refund may arrive, she says.

"So, you can at least be looking for it," she says.