Tax Day is quickly approaching–coming up tomorrow. Individual income tax returns are due to the federal government on Tax Day each year. The terminology between taxes and tax returns can be confusing for those who are unfamiliar, but tax returns, which are due on Tax Day, are the completion of documentation that calculates an individual’s income earned and the amount of taxes that needs to be paid to the government (or, potentially, back to the taxpayer). So, Tax Day is the deadline by which these payments are due. Minors are required to pay taxes if their income exceeds $1,000 annually, and people 65 and under must make over $12,950 to be required to pay federal income tax.

Senior Riley Erben has worked a wide variety of jobs over the past few years, ranging from a ski instructor her sophomore year to working at Adventure Kids at the lower school currently. Because of this, she’s had a lot of experience with paying taxes. Overall, she has found the process not too challenging—just redundant.

Erben said, “When you’re going through [the forms], there’s a lot of things that just don’t apply [to minors]. So it’s just you constantly checking no. No, I’m not married. No, I don’t have a spouse. No, I don’t have any houses.”

While the process can be redundant, it still manages to be confusing. Junior Rowan Hoffman had help from his parents for his tax fillings. “I had help from [my parents] with the payments […].” This is the case for most students at SPA.

A key difference in the Tax Day process this year as compared to last is that one’s tax refund may be smaller this year. Tax refunds occur when one overpaid their taxes the year before. This year, the average refund was $2,933, compared with $3,305 last year. The reduced amount in tax refunds is correlated with expired aid from the pandemic, such as earned income tax credit payments.

While most students at SPA do not file their own taxes leading up to Tax Day every year–either because they don’t make enough to qualify or because they have help from a parent or guardian–there are a few key tips to avoid making mistakes in these filings. The biggest tip is to make sure that all forms are submitted. For example, oftentimes investment income goes unreported because the form is available online and not sent in the mail. Check online and make sure this form is submitted as well as all other relevant forms. As when completing all other types of forms and legal documents, it is crucial that all spelling is correct and all digits in birthday, Social Security number, and bank account are accurate in one’s tax returns.

While Tax Day is the deadline to pay taxes, it is not the deadline to file taxes. Taxpayers are able to request a six-month extension to file their federal tax returns. This extension would make sense for someone who is missing a tax form, though they would still need to pay their federal tax bill by the April 18 deadline. They would still need to approximate it through tax software and estimate the remaining amount from the missing forms.

Erben’s biggest piece of advice is to get ahead on your taxes. “Do [your taxes] before the deadline because you can get penalized,” Erben said. “Start ‘em young and learn how to do it young.”