Jane ChiecoThe time has come when the government makes every employed American fill out tax forms.
Although the government believes that they have come up with an easy-to-use system that just about every American can understand, it still seems to be so confusing. But among the 1099s, 1098s, 1040s and all the different W’s, there seems to be a great deal of profit a person can make from these forms or a person can be the unlucky one who actually owes the government money.
The trick to doing taxes is knowing how to do them correctly in order to figure out how to earn back as much money as possible. Taxes are a game of figuring out simple ways to gain money, not lose.
A common mistake that many college students make is claiming themselves as independent, feeling that this is the way to get the most money possible back. In reality though, most students do not make enough money to be considered independent and actually end up losing tax return money this way.
According to tax101.com, the best way for students to fill out their taxes is as a dependent. This way they will receive all or at least most of their federal tax money.
Another mistake that seems to happen to students is that they do not file for the correct state. Many students who work on campus do not live in Pennsylvania and because of that they do not file their taxes in Pennsylvania. Although their job is in Pennsylvania, the person must file their taxes in their home state.
When a person files in the correct state and works in another state, they usually seem to gain back most of the money that the working state took out for taxes.
Finally, the most important thing to remember about taxes is not to pay a great cost to have them done. Instead, look for an easy way to have your taxes done proficiently.
HR block charges $150 per hour to do taxes, so if you have a slow tax consultant at the company you may waste all of your tax money to pay in order to have your taxes done.
Here at Cabrini, the accounting classes are doing taxes for free, so use them in order to get your taxes done, because in the end who does not want to receive the maximum amount of money back without any fees?
So what exactly do people do with their money? It seems as if many save their money or pay off debt. No one really seems to have big plans with their money, especially if they are like sophomore human resource management major Andrea Mory.
“I actually owe the federal government money!” Mory said.
