The Dreaded Tax Season

I know that it’s not even close to April yet, but, as the days pass all too quickly, I can’t help but think about how tax season is coming up. Unless you already know that you are getting money back before you even do your taxes, I can’t imagine any reason why anyone in the world would actually like that time of year.

Student Tax Problems

Being a student while you are filing taxes can be a good thing, but it can also make your life so much more difficult. You have to list all your financial aid as personal income. And, though students do not get taxed as heavily, if at all, it is still a pain in the neck to go through all the paperwork and make sure that everything is accurate.

Last year, I decided I would file my taxes myself. Unbeknownst to me, I didn’t have to file my taxes because I had just barely made less than $5,000, which is the cutoff for people who have to file taxes. One penny over that line, and you have to put your nose to the grindstone come tax season.

Anyway, not knowing anything about taxes, I did them anyway, thinking I had to. First, I figured that I would do them by hand, but, when I realized how complicated that seemed without an instruction booklet, I resorted to the internet, typing “tax help Utah” into Google.

After finding out that I was going to have to fill out a lot more forms if I went through a free online tax help website, I resorted back to the paper-and-pencil method, after, of course, I got the instruction booklet.

Unfortunately, I was only going to get about $10 back because I was not having many taxes taken out of my taxes because I was a student. And, since $10 is basically the cost of a stamp, I did not feel that it was really worth it to put in the effort to send my taxes off.

Other Tax Complications

This year, I am already over the $5,000 bracket, I think, and I’m not having any taxes taken out of my check because I am a contracted employee. I sincerely hope that I will not have to pay an exuberant amount of money to the government this year, as I’m still a student. But, just in case, I’m putting money away in a “tax account” so that I will not go into debt on account of my tax payment. And, if you are in a similar situation, I suggest you do the same.

Also, as a dependant, I think I have to pay more money. I think it is the government’s way to try to even out the tax credits. Maybe I can skimp out on that one too on the student thing. I am crossing my fingers.

Anyway, I figured I would give you an idea of the kinds of things you might run into if you will be filing your taxes this upcoming year. If nothing else, the take-home message of this article is: start your taxes early so you will not be hurting for time or have to pay fees for turning them in late.

Guest post By Kassandra Konecny