Debunking The Top Millennial And Gen Z Tax Myths
BDG Studios talked with a tax expert to finally shed some light on some of the most commonly believed tax misconceptions.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or it’s your first time filing, the arrival of tax season can be far from welcome, and yet, the bad rap is mostly due to a few persistent misconceptions. To help you parse tax fact from tax fiction, the team at BDG Studios sat down with Lisa Greene-Lewis, a CPA and Tax Expert with TurboTax who’s been working with taxes for over 20 years, to help us make sense of it all.
Speaking of making sense, now through March 31, 2022, TurboTax is offering a free ride through tax season for those who qualify. The TurboTax $0 Any Way offer allows anyone with a simple tax return the opportunity to do their taxes with the help of an expert along the way with TurboTax Live Basic Offer, or have an expert fully do their taxes for them with TurboTax Live Full Service Basic Offer — all for the price of $0. If you have a simple tax situation and prefer to do your taxes yourself you can file for free the entire season with TurboTax Free Edition. It’s a shockingly good deal for anyone with the tax season jitters and no doubt an experience that’ll help any tax return ‘fraidy cats get through this tense time.
TurboTax Free Edition, TurboTax Live Basic, and TurboTax Live Full Service Basic are designed for tax filers with a simple tax situation, filing Form 1040 only. Simple situations covered include W-2 income, limited interest and dividend income, standard deduction, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Student Loan interest.
Below, Greene-Lewis and BDG Studios explain away some of tax season’s most frightening — and confounding — myths.
Myth: It’s not worth filing if you don’t meet the income threshold
“A lot of first time filers think they may not even make enough to file, but if you’ve had federal taxes taken out, you could get that back,” Greene-Lewis advises, clarifying that it’s worth filing even if you make under $12,550 annually. “If you can qualify for additional credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit, you can really boost your refund.” “Every year, the IRS reports that they have over a billion dollars in unclaimed refunds, and the average unclaimed refund is over $800,” according to Greene-Lewis. “A lot of that belongs to people that think they don’t make enough money to file, and they could be eligible to get their federal taxes that were withheld back, plus some of the many credits.”
Myth: Filing taxes is time consuming
The notion that filing taxes is a time-consuming slog is far from accurate, especially when you use an online service like TurboTax — and doubly so when you employ one of their tax experts. “People are realizing you don’t need to go out anywhere, especially during the pandemic,” says Greene-Lewis. “We've all learned how much we can accomplish from home and the great thing about TurboTax is that it's already set up for doing your taxes online efficiently and on your own terms, and now you can do your taxes yourself or have an expert do your taxes for you without leaving home.” With the TurboTax Live Full Service Basic Offer, you have very little to do. Just upload your documents, and a tax expert will take it from there.
Myth: Refunds take forever to process
While there’s not a guaranteed timeline for a tax refund to be delivered from the IRS, they tend to be processed a lot quicker than you might expect. In any case, refunds are typically issued by the IRS within 21 days or less if you e-file with direct deposit, and the quickest possible way to get your refund is to e-file with direct deposit, that way your payment won’t even have to wait until you get around to depositing the check.
Myth: The system is rooting against you
Doing taxes can feel like a tall task if you’re new to it and many new to taxes worry about being audited, but the system is on your side, not against you! Plus, TurboTax software ensures that everything is filled out properly based on your entries and your unique situation , so you don’t have to worry about messing anything up. Besides, as Greene-Lewis states. “Less than 1% of people actually get audited. A lot of people think that when they get something from the IRS that it’s an audit, but a lot of the time it’s just an adjustment letter.”
Myth: You’ll definitely have to pay
One of the number one fears associated with taxes is the notion that you’ll definitely be faced with a huge bill to foot, but depending on your situation, it’s just as likely that you’ll get money back. “Last tax season, more than 75% of tax filers received a tax refund and the average refund was over $2,700,” according to Greene-Lewis.
Why leave money on the table? Filing is simpler than ever and the sooner you file, the sooner you will be closer to your tax refund.
