CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is that time of the morning, time for our "Dollars & Deals" segment with our consumer expert Clark Howard. Today, Clark tackles tax time. Still February so you're not in crunch time yet, but just what do you need to know now.</s>CLARK HOWARD, CNN CONSUMER ADVOCATE: Today's question is from Joe in Marietta. Joe, you want to know what advantages are there? It's still early to file your taxes. You're thinking ahead, what can you do now to take advantage of the time and help you in preparing your taxes? Well, actually what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to jump on this, file your taxes right now. Because if the IRS owes you a refund for money you paid in last year, if you file early, you get that refund much, much quicker. People who wait until March, late March, April, you wait a long time to get your refund. Listen to this, if you file now and you file electronically, you're going to love this, you'll get your refund in about 7 to 10 days. Another thing, if you're getting a big refund, something I want you to do now for next year, I want you to reduce the withholding of federal tax from your paycheck each pay period so that next year you're not hoping that the IRS is going to be quick giving you back your own money. Don't make an interest free loan to the federal government.</s>COSTELLO: It's the only way I can save money, though. But if you do have a question for Clark, send it here to DAYBREAK@CNN.com. We'll get it answered for you. And make sure you check in with Clark's Web site, that's www.ClarkHoward.com. Plus factoids from Clark will be on that Web site so be sure to visit. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Dollars & Deals: Tax Time