Student volunteers sad to see tax season end
There's a group of high school students across the country bummed that tax season is ending.
For seniors who have spent each of the past four years training for and then preparing tax returns through an Internal Revenue Service program that provides free tax help to lower income individuals, this week marks the end of a defining experience of their high school careers.
On Wednesday, these students will greet their last group of taxpayers, transcribe numbers from their last set of W2s and 1099s and 1040s, and in some cases stay after school for hours until everyone who shows up on Tax Day has their return processed.
For these teenagers, all unpaid volunteers, completing tax returns – often a source of anguish or just annoyance for many adults – has become a source of pride in their communities and excitement about future careers.
"I think it was the best decision I ever made," says Ashley Gallardo, 18, a senior who helped prepare tax returns this season and last season at Osborne High School in Marietta, Ga. "I feel like this program is a way to give back. And I feel like that's something I want to do in my life."
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which provides tax help to lower-income taxpayers and others, such as the elderly or those with disabilities, has volunteer sites at 117 high schools across the country, according to IRS figures. The IRS doesn't track how many of those sites have trained high schoolers as preparers, though. VITA centers are often set up at local churches, schools or community centers. Volunteers have to pass an exam with the IRS to be certified.
So how do you get high schoolers invested in one of the more mundane and complicated responsibilities of adulthood? "It helps that all the kids are interested in money," says Angelo Ochoa, a teacher at A.J. Moore Academy of Finance at University High School in Waco, Texas. Ochoa is one of the teachers who trains students for the VITA program at A.J. Moore, one of the larger high school sites. This year it has 82 students certified to prepare returns and expects to complete more than 2,500 tax returns.
For high schoolers on the brink of adulthood, a lesson on tax law may be one of the more practical teaching moments of their young lives.
"I've learned how to deal with real-life people and real-life situations," says Robert Brown, 18, a senior at Osborne High School who has prepared tax returns for the past two years.
"You may not use calculus ever after you get out of high school, but you will always have to file a tax return," says Michael Devault, a business teacher who started the VITA program at Osborne. "I try to tell them I'm giving them a life skill." Devault teaches a spring class each year specifically on taxes, and every student helps run the VITA center, some as greeters or scheduling assistants if they don't pass the IRS VITA exam to become preparers. This year the class has 20 students, and six are tax preparers.
And while students help clients fill out 1040-EZs and itemize deductions, they're also gaining skills in communication, customer service and empathy, Devault says.
"Sometimes it's not always the taxes that's important for them to learn, it's helping others," he says. Students say that's why they've continued to participate in the program, and why they'll miss it after graduation.
"(The people) were so genuine, and they really seemed like they really appreciated the free service that we were offering," Brown says.
Many students also say they genuinely enjoy the methodical nature of preparing taxes. The process appeals to their sense of order – every number has its place, every complicated situation has an answer. Students often train for months – teachers weave lessons on taxes into curriculum – and study for the VITA exam outside of school in order to pass in time for tax season.
"At the beginning of the year they knew nothing," Ochoa says. "And now they're doing stuff people pay preparers to do."
Some schools offer their services once a week. Others have hours several times a week after school and sometimes on weekends. When someone comes in with a complicated tax situation, Ochoa says he encourages students to turn to the IRS tax guide for help instead of relying on him; some of them even like reading it.
"I like challenges," says Yanely Duarte, a senior at A.J. Moore who has participated in the VITA program since she was a freshman. "I love actual exact numbers from the IRS and the books that the IRS (gives us). They're a little complicated, but whenever you get into it and start reading, you want to finish the book. I think, 'How did they invent this?' Some of the things in there do not make sense at all."
Duarte will graduate this year and plans to continue volunteering while taking classes at a local community college next year.
All of the students interviewed by USA TODAY said that the VITA program deepened their interest in pursuing business or accounting after graduation. Brown wants to be an accountant. So does Miguel Jaramillo, a senior at A.J. Moore who started in VITA as a freshman. Duarte wants to study business administration.
"I honestly think that interacting with the people is probably one of the best kinds of experiences you can get from anything," Jaramillo says. "Your entire life you're going to have to interact with somebody. You get to learn how to handle those kinds of situations."
That includes telling people when they owe taxes, something some of the newer students get nervous about, Ochoa says. But he doesn't let them off the hook: "In those cases we make them go break the bad news."
Time for seasonal planning for taxes, charities, more
This is the time of year when certain money issues come more into focus, including those related to income-tax planning, charity scams and checking up on the financial health of family members.
Tax planning isn't shaping up as anything remarkable over the waning weeks of 2015. Congress hasn't passed any blockbuster legislation affecting individuals this year and, with gridlock on Capitol Hill, might not. That leaves the fate of several popular tax provisions dangling. These "extenders" must be acted on fairly soon or they won't be in force for the coming tax-return filing season.
These include a higher-education tuition and fees deduction, a mortgage-debt forgiveness exclusion and a classroom-expense deduction for teachers.
Also in limbo is the optional deduction of state and local sales taxes in place of state and local income taxes. "That could affect your decision to make a big-ticket purchase before year end," such as for a new car, said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst in the tax-accounting group at Wolters Kluwer in suburban Chicago.
Then there's the option for people 70½ and older to donate an IRA distribution to charity, rather than include it first as taxable income. That one could be troublesome for some seniors trying to determine how much of their required minimum distributions to take before year end, Luscombe said. A hefty 50 percent tax penalty applies on the amount of required minimum distributions not taken.
The capital-gains rules are pretty much the same this year, with the new wrinkle that some people could be looking at sizable losses for the first time in a while, thanks to the late-summer swoon in the stock market, Luscombe said.
In any year, investors are wise to determine paper gains and losses in taxable accounts, with an eye on realizing or harvesting losses before year end. If losses exceed gains, up to $3,000 of the excess can be used to offset ordinary income, and additional losses can be carried forward to future years.
From bank fees to stocks, some financial woes are avoidable
Otherwise, taxpayers generally would be wise to defer taxable income to next year, if possible, while accelerating deductions so they can be taken in 2015. But that strategy doesn't necessarily hold if you expect to have much larger deductible expenses next year, as with a pending medical procedure, for example.
In that case, it might pay to bunch deductions into either this year or next, if you might not qualify to itemize both years. Charitable donations are one type of deductible expense for which the timing is easy to control.
Charity caveats
Now also is a prime time for charitable donations, and non-profit groups — and scammers — know it. Americans make about one-quarter of their charitable donations over the waning weeks of the year, according to one study. That makes it critical to give money wisely, without getting so caught up in a feel-good moment that you drop your vigilance.
To make your gifts count, take some time to research the groups you intend to benefit.
Look for non-profits with missions that you agree with and search for measures of impact — the number of meals served, low-income homes built, animals rescued, or whatever. Lean toward non-profits that are run efficiently, where the bulk of the money raised goes toward programs and not overhead, including executive salaries.
GuideStar.org and CharityNavigator.org provide broad non-profit databases that you can search, including Form 990 disclosures filed with the Internal Revenue Service that provide detailed information on operations, including the compensation of top executives. Charity Navigator also rates larger non-profits on a four-star scale. Another research sources is give.org, from the Better Business Bureau.
It's wise to verify that a charity is for real. Crooks sometimes seek money from unsuspecting donors, often through online phishing blasts or cold calls over the phone. Be especially cautious when asked to provide credit-card numbers or bank account information. Some fake entities use names that sound similar to legitimate non-profits, with the aim of confusing unwary donors.
Despite all the work to keep our personal and financial
Despite all the work to keep our personal and financial information safe, it's still possible to become the victim of fraud. (Photo: maxkabakov/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Another option is to search through the "exempt organizations select check" section at irs.gov, although this database can be cumbersome. If you donate to a non-profit that isn't legitimate and claim a tax deduction, your deduction could be disallowed, and you might trigger an audit.
In fact, consider whether you can take advantage of a charitable tax donation. Roughly 2 in 3 Americans don't itemize and thus won't get the deduction. An alternate option, especially if money is tight, might be to donate your time instead of your cash.
Family matters
Holiday get-togethers offer an opportunity to check the financial health of friends and family members — elderly relatives especially. Many seniors are affluent yet susceptible to giving away their money for reasons that could involve fear, loneliness, cognitive problems and so on.
Strangers account for more than half the financial fraud committed against the elderly, but family members, friends and neighbors sometimes can cause problems, too.
Wells Fargo Advisors suggests watching out for several telltale signs that things might be amiss. Some are obvious, such as large, unexplained loans taken out by an elderly person or personal belongings that have gone missing. Also, watch for wire transfers or large credit-card charges, gifts to a caretaker, utility or other routine bills not being paid, and changes to the person's will or other estate-planning documents.
"A sudden increase in spending and atypical, big withdrawals would be red flags to me," said David Jacobsen, an investment vice president with Wells Fargo Advisors in Mesa.
Another telltale sign could involve an elderly client seeking to buy risky assets that are out of character with the person's stated investment objectives.
Jacobsen said it can be a good idea for elderly clients to sign emergency contact forms, before the need arises, authorizing a trusted adviser to speak with adult children or other relatives in case of emergencies or if they sense a problem. Otherwise, account-privacy laws could block such communication.
"We try to get the whole family involved," Jacobsen said. If adult children or other family members have permission to receive account statements, "They can watch from a distance."
Other signals could be more subtle, such as a new friend or sweetheart in the elder person's life, a sudden reluctance to discuss financial matters, or behavior changes such as fear, submissiveness, social isolation or withdrawal.
Seniors generally are trusting and willing to answer the phone or door. That can make them vulnerable to a sales pitch, fraudulent or otherwise, Wells Fargo said. Plus, they can be confused by financial offers, and they're often reluctant to report fraud out of fear or embarrassment.
