Accounting professor hopes students will learn life lessons
Although that dreaded mid-April day is still months away, tax season is in full swing.
Mariah Lynch, a Darla Moore School of Business accounting professor, says knowing how to properly file taxes will save college students, many of whom are new to the process, from making mistakes on their tax returns.
“Many new graduates will have fairly simple returns that they could do themselves if they understood the basics,” Lynch said.
One issue that might prohibit students from learning how to file taxes is a seeming lack of necessity. Many students are still supported by their parents, and see no need to file their own taxes.
“I think there are some college students that do know how to file taxes,” Amy Foote, a fourth-year journalism and English student, said. “However, the majority of college students either don’t have jobs or have parents that do their taxes for them.”
As soon as students graduate and enter into the job market, however, filing taxes becomes an annual responsibility. Hiring an outside source to assist in the process is common, but being able to understand and effectively communicate information about taxes is a necessity.
“Students need to at least be able to have an intelligent conversation about what is the most advantageous tax treatment,” Lynch said. “That can only happen if they have been given a tax foundation,”
According to Lynch, there are a few key tax-related processes that college students need to know about before graduating college. She says students need to understand when to file a return themselves, if their parents claim them or not, how to treat scholarship money, what tax incentives are available for higher education and how to use a 529 plan effectively.
Whichever career a student may pursue, being knowledgeable about different tax options will be necessary later in life.
“Students must understand the tax consequences of retirement planning, which should begin with the first paycheck students receive,” Lynch said.
There are many resources that can help with the filing process, on and off campus. Lynch suggests using TaxAct.com as well as Turbo Tax. Along with these options, students can use a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Service (VITA), offered by USC’s chapter of the accounting fraternity Beta Alpha Psi.
While it’s by no means the most enjoyable part of growing up, filing taxes is something everyone has to do in his or her lifetime, Lynch said, so understanding how the system works better prepares students for the world after graduation.