Adapting to financial independence can be difficult for college students venturing out on their own. With the chaos of paying tuition and bills, balancing accounts and saving for emergencies, some forget an important step to becoming fiscally responsible – filing federal income tax. Tax season is becoming less daunting to the Internet-infatuated youth as the Internal Revenue Service relies more and more on its Web site. The electronic filing rate has grown steadily from 31 percent in 2001 to 57 percent in 2007. The visits to IRS.gov have more than doubled in the past five years, coming to 217.8 million hits in 2007. “I don’t know a lot about income tax,” said English sophomore Jaylyn Blythe. Blythe said she would be more comfortable filing online with a secure site than through the mail. Ian Cruise, biochemistry sophomore, worked for a tax office, Waskom Brown and Associates, in Natchitoches. He chose not to file when the office predicted his return would be $12. The cost of doing the paperwork through the firm would have been $250. Cruise said he had not thought about filing independently online to avoid fees. Cruise said he would be more likely to file if he could actually make a profit. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced an economic stimulus plan Thursday that includes one-time tax rebates to low-income earners. The plan includes rebates for 23 million taxpayers who pay taxes each pay period but do not make enough money to pay income tax. Many students do not make filing income tax a priority, though it can yield a profit. Marc Stubbs, kinesiology sophomore, said he does not handle his own taxes. “Basically, it’s too much of a hassle for me to go home and fill out the taxes, so my mom just does it,” Stubbs said. Blythe said she has never filed an income tax return because she only works summer jobs at minimum wage. She said she might be more likely to file if she knew she would get money back. Many students do not realize they are eligible to file a return. There is no minimum income requirement to file. However, anyone claimed by a parent as a dependent must file a return if his or her annual income exceeds $5,350. Unclaimed individuals must file if their annual income exceeds $8,750. “Normally we encourage everybody to file because if you don’t owe, you’re going to get your money back,” said Katherine Willis-Muller, a staff accountant with Baton Rouge tax-advising firm Michael Choate & Co. Taxable income includes wages, salaries and tips. It also includes self-employment income, interest on bank accounts and savings bonds and dividends. College students can be taxed on scholarships that are not used for tuition, fees and school supplies, including room and board scholarships. Willis-Muller said she rarely sees college students owe tax money. She said students can determine whether to file based on information on their W-2 forms. “A good rule of thumb is to look at what you had federally withheld and see if it’s worth getting it back,” Willis-Muller said. IRS.gov also offers refund status checks. In 2002, only 1.1 million status checks were made. The service was used 32.1 million times this past year.
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