Never filed taxes before? Here's how to make the process as painless as possible
By Jordan Stone
The deadline to file for income tax returns through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) looms on the horizon. Many students with jobs will need to file the proper forms in order to settle up with the IRS.
Most dependent students who made at least $850 of earned income in the 2006 tax year will have to file for a tax return by the deadline of April 15.
The first step for anybody with questions regarding their personal returns involves visiting the Web site irs.gov. The site has several links that allow the user to file electronically for free, as well as answers to frequently asked questions and rules regarding specific situations of individuals.
The electronic forms require the user to enter their tax information in a straightforward step-by-step process.
Students and parents of students who pay tuition may be eligible for educational credit. Byron Ady, a licensed tax consultant for Fiducial, advises that a 1098-T form be filled out in order to get a significant tax reduction.
According to Ady, whoever takes the dependency exemption for the student should also be the one who files for the education credit. Parents usually benefit more from taking this credit than students.
Ady says that the dependency exemption should be claimed by only the student or only the parent, otherwise there could be problems.
"If the parent claims the student as a dependent then make sure that the student does not claim their own exemption," Ady said.
The filing process for students with jobs should be fairly simple. They receive their W-2 forms from their employer(s). Ady recommends the 1040 EZ form (which can be found at irs.gov) for students with one or two W-2s. This is the form for federal tax returns.
"If they take it a line at a time and follow it through [then] they should be able to handle it," Ady said.
Students should file the Oregon 40S short form for Oregon state tax returns.
Senior Shaun Ghyselinck prepares his taxes through the computer program TurboTax.
"It's really easy to do," Ghyselinck said.
Ghyselinck says its step-by-step process is easy to follow and the program also takes care of refunds. It also figures in deductions for possible student loans.
Students with more complicated tax returns should get help at a local tax consultation office.
Most forms are available online through irs.gov.
