Do college students take tax season seriously?
Studies show that in 2021, most young adults from ages 19 to 22 either failed to file their taxes, just simply didn’t know how to file their taxes, or did not know where to go to get them filed.
As this year’s tax season continues, students at Florida A&M University appear to be managing their taxes better than ever.
Students working a minimum wage job who averaged 20-30 hours a week in 2022 could get $1,500 back after filing their taxes.
Markia Langston, a fourth-year computer science major at FAMU, tries to take advantage of tax season as much as she can.
“It’s always exciting to claim all of the money that gets taken out of your check throughout the year,” Langston said. “I worked a few jobs here and there before my senior year of college and for a long time I let a lot of that money go to waste by not filing because I felt like I was working for short periods of time,” Langston added.
Jeylan Roby, a third-year engineering student, says filing taxes as a young adult is unpredictable.
“The first time I filed my taxes was last year and I mistakenly went the whole year without withholding my federal tax income,” Roby said. “This time around I made sure I got it right. I feel like it’s a real learning experience, especially as a college student, and how it affected me.”
Although Roby’s experience may seem unfamiliar, it is common for young adults to set up their tax information incorrectly and fails to catch on until it is time for tax season again.
Unlike Roby, Latonya Williams, a third-year pre-med student, lets her parents take care of her taxes.
“I know in the future I’ll be responsible enough to start doing my own taxes, but for now I just send my W-2 forms to my parents every year,” Williams said. “I think since they have more experience than me and have worked way more jobs than me during their careers that it feels safer letting them handle it for me.”
Working college students usually benefit when they file taxes. If you or someone you know is a college student who would like to file their taxes and isn’t quite sure where to start, here are 5 different links for assistance.