2008 Woodie Awards
Beware pitfalls of tax-season stress, prep
Allie Thomas
Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Campus News
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Before getting "a real job" earning more than $5,150 a year, students can enjoy a tax refund by just by completing income tax returns, which is also the law, if you have worked in the United States in the past year.
This year, the deadline for filing tax returns is April 17, and everyone in this category must either file a W-2 form or have their returns prepared professionally by a certified public accountant (CPA) or another tax-preparing agency such as H&R Block.
By filling out the forms yourself, students will save money in skipping a middle-man tax preparer. But at the same time, students risk being penalized and fined should they make an error.
The most common mistake students make, said Union City's Jackson-Hewitt general manager Julie Bakr, is when they claim themselves as an independent-instead of a dependent-to their parents. Students who are guilty of this only cause more red tape as more forms must be processed to clarify the mistake and the chaos can last up to 10 weeks to be corrected.
A huge advantage in using a CPA or tax preparer is that they will share any liabilities from penalties and interest that may arise with the taxpayer, Bakr said. The agency will always save your records as well if, at any time, students need to prove taxes were filed.
At Jackson-Hewitt in Union City, a student special to process W-2's is available for only $39, Bakr said.
If students choose to file taxes themselves, they can download the 1040-EZ from IRS.gov, but even the IRS' website is unsecure, Bakr said. Links on the IRS page will direct users to other websites also and not necessarily those of the IRS.
Secure websites can be detected with an "s" at the end of "http." To find such a site, you may conduct a Google search under the heading "https." Simply add "taxes" on top of that and there will be a list of secure sites to file your taxes online.
To better understand how to file his own taxes, Junior John Collins of Memphis recommends using TurboTax, which is software available for about $20 from retailers.
This year, the deadline for filing tax returns is April 17, and everyone in this category must either file a W-2 form or have their returns prepared professionally by a certified public accountant (CPA) or another tax-preparing agency such as H&R Block.
By filling out the forms yourself, students will save money in skipping a middle-man tax preparer. But at the same time, students risk being penalized and fined should they make an error.
The most common mistake students make, said Union City's Jackson-Hewitt general manager Julie Bakr, is when they claim themselves as an independent-instead of a dependent-to their parents. Students who are guilty of this only cause more red tape as more forms must be processed to clarify the mistake and the chaos can last up to 10 weeks to be corrected.
A huge advantage in using a CPA or tax preparer is that they will share any liabilities from penalties and interest that may arise with the taxpayer, Bakr said. The agency will always save your records as well if, at any time, students need to prove taxes were filed.
At Jackson-Hewitt in Union City, a student special to process W-2's is available for only $39, Bakr said.
If students choose to file taxes themselves, they can download the 1040-EZ from IRS.gov, but even the IRS' website is unsecure, Bakr said. Links on the IRS page will direct users to other websites also and not necessarily those of the IRS.
Secure websites can be detected with an "s" at the end of "http." To find such a site, you may conduct a Google search under the heading "https." Simply add "taxes" on top of that and there will be a list of secure sites to file your taxes online.
To better understand how to file his own taxes, Junior John Collins of Memphis recommends using TurboTax, which is software available for about $20 from retailers.
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