By Mia Martinez | Reporter
The IRS is now enforcing the return of pre-pandemic policies and penalties. Baylor students are now realizing the complications of how filing taxes will be.
A report from The Wall Street Journal highlighted the return of pre-pandemic policies, specifically the COVID-19-era tax deadlines and penalty enforcement. During the pandemic, these were treated as federally declared natural disaster provisions that allowed filing delays. Uncertainty around these policies, including when they should be reinstated and where interest should be applied, is at the center of current tax discussions.
Dr. Paul Mason, associate professor of accounting and Plumhoff Endowed Chair in accounting, has taught federal taxation courses at Baylor for 12 years and said that after reading the Wall Street article, much of the confusion surrounding the IRS policies stem from the construct of the COVID-19-era declarations.
“When COVID happened, there was a declaration of that memo disaster, but there was no end date given for the disaster,” Mason said. “The clock could never start on the extension.”
Mason emphasized the importance of students filing by April 15, as both the deadline to file and to pay.
“You can give an extension of time to file, but you cannot give an extension of time to pay — so you can extend your tax return to give yourself more time,” Mason said. “The IRS wants their money by April 15; they will create penalties and interest for or potentially a penalty.”
He also explained that college students have traditionally lower incomes, which means lower penalties, although awareness is essential when it comes to doing taxes, he said.
“I do think that students lack awareness in a large part; on this normal filing, [they] rely on [tax preparers] or TurboTax to tell them what to do,” Mason said. “They’re not fully understanding what they were able to think, what the requirements are for retaliating facts throughout the year.”
Addison sophomore Marguerite Boudreaux found that filing taxes became an annual responsibility before college and has continued.
“This is my fourth year filing taxes independently,” Boudreaux said. “I typically just use a free online source. If I have the right documentation, it’s pretty chill.”
This year proved to be much harder for Boudreaux, she said. In addition to filing a W-2, she had to file a 1098-T form to report her scholarship income from Baylor, as well as a 1099-form from her summer internship.
“It’s been a little more complicated this year,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux, like many other students, relies on free online software and trusted adults for guidance.
“I always triple-check before I submit anything, it’s definitely overwhelming and a little scary,” Boudreaux said. “That’s why I always try to file as early as I can because I don’t want to be in any sort of jeopardy.”
Boudreaux believes that more preparation by Baylor could help students feel more confident when filing taxes.
“My high school didn’t prepare me for that, and my parents, they did their best,” Boudreaux said. “It’s definitely something I could gain more from, maybe a class about it or an instructional club, or something like that.”
Both Boudreaux and Mason agree that starting early staying organized are key.
“Don’t wait for the last minute, and be good at documentation.” Mason said. “Gather the information, set up a box folder, set up a Dropbox for a year and you can get about using your records electronically.”
