Death and Taxes

Students grapple seasonal task

BY LILEANA PEARSON

Original story date: February 2016.

Taxes are an important part of our everyday lives, yet some people don’t quite understand the meaning of this necessity.

If you were to look up the definition of taxes in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, it would say taxes are a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.

Broken down, that means that the state and federal government take a portion of everyone's paycheck, then pool that money to pay for everyday services like MediCare, Medicaid, roads, Social Security, National Defense, Education, Law Enforcement, preserving natural resources, and the list goes on and on.

If we did not take taxes out of paychecks, our country would be in a state of disrepair.

So, do you need to file taxes?

If you work on campus in any capacity and you earn money, whether that be physical money or money that comes in the form of work study, you need to file taxes.

If you work off-campus and earn a paycheck, then you need to file your taxes as well.

The process of filing taxes starts with a W2. A W2 is a form of your wages and salary as reported by the business you work for. They also show the amount of state and federal taxes that were withheld from your paychecks to ensure you get proper returns.

W2’s are distributed by your employer and are usually handed out in January.

With paperwork in hand, you are now ready to file. There are a variety of options on how to do this. You can go through an accountant, do them yourself online, go to the booth at the local Walmart on Burkesville Road, or take advantage of the free tax services offered by LWC accounting students through AARP.

Running February 10 - April 13 in Turner 108 on Mondays and Wednesdays, all you will need is your W2, Social Security card, and last year’s tax paperwork. It is a free service providing occupational experience for accounting students and tax assistance for the community and campus.

The program is through AARP, which sets up services around the country and takes on volunteers to help file taxes, in LWC’s case, students.

Photo: Jacob and MaryAnn Koerner completing their taxes with the help of LWC student Anastasia Serdyuk

Before students can volunteer, however, they must have completed the accounting program’s Tax AIDS class the previous semester, and they must pass a test distributed by the IRS (International Revenue Services) to ensure that they are reliable and trained when filing taxes.

“It gives accounting students hands-on experience with doing taxes,” Will Reynolds, an accounting student and volunteer, said. “It’s real world experience that allows us to apply what we have learned in class.”

Director of Human Resources Karen Wright at LWC urges students to files their taxes if they receive a W2 to make sure they “don’t have tax liability” and because “college students can be in for some stellar tax refunds.”

One such example is that students earning less than $60,000 (single-filers) or $120,000 (married, filing jointly), can claim up to $2,000 education-related expenses.

This is just one of many ways that taxes are structured to help citizens that are trying to better themselves.

Taxes are an everyday necessity; resources shared by many are funded by a nation united. So, do yourself and your campus a favor, and file your taxes this year.

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