Life Fright

When I turned 16, I secured my first part-time job and marveled at the prospect of making my own money and not a paltry amount either for someone who did not have any savings except for some emergencies-only cash in my wallet.

Enter my rude awakening to adulthood. This included filing a W2, retrieving a work permit from my high school, blindly enrolling in my job’s retirement plan, opening a checking account, getting a physical signed off on, and signing more forms than I can recall the purpose of.

After that, things went swimmingly and I was so happy to be earning money for something that I would volunteer to do. After about a year at the job, I received letters from the city and the government informing me of the penalties that had to pay by a soon-approaching due date to avoid further penalty increases. News flash – for the tax year of 2024, if a child or anyone for that matter earns more than $14,600 for that year, they need to file a tax return.

I was raised by a single parent who did not need to file taxes due to low income. Additionally, there was very little financial literacy and a whole lot of financial ignorance when it came to matters like retirement funds and more pressingly filing tax returns. My parent, instead of admitting that they did not know anything about these matters, told me to figure it out myself leaving me dazed and confused trying to understand financial terms while building resentment towards my parent for not sharing knowledge and guidance.

Filing taxes especially in the U.S., and not knowing anything about the tax system is daunting and I wish I knew about free tax-filing services when I was 16 so that I would feel less like I was thrown to the wolves to fend for myself. I had thought that those who outsource their taxes to a professional needed to pay hefty fees which I was not willing to shell out. However, the services described here are offered online and provide an easy do-it-yourself interface with clear, guided steps on what information to enter based on your life circumstances, all in simple terms with none of the confusing jargon. The software then takes all of that entered data and fills out the relevant tax forms for you.

At the time of this writing, if you have an adjusted-gross income (AGI) of less than $84,000 then you qualify for a free federal return filing. For a simple situation, the AGI would be your earned income from jobs minus any pre-tax retirement contributions and student loan interest paid. If you are in high school or college, you would likely meet the requirements for free tax filing services.

The IRS has made it easy to find a company that will offer their services to help you file a free federal tax return. And depending on the company, state tax returns could be free as well. Explore your options at https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/. TurboTax also offers a free service to those who qualify and it was the first one I learned about. Knowledge is power!

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Please conduct your own research and due diligence before making any financial decisions.