Opens in a new tab

Facing first-time filing tax fears

February 27, 2016

If you make money, you generally have to file a tax return. And while some young taxpayers are able to avoid filling out a 1040, every filing season there are a lot of new filers in their 20s or younger fulfilling their tax duties for the first time.

Cat kitten all the sameWhat do you mean this little guy owes taxes?

The Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income for the 2013 tax year, the latest one for which there is complete data, reports that more than 25 million filers were younger than 26.

These young taxpayers accounted for 17 percent of that year's filings.

That's a lot of numbers from which to choose when it comes to the latest By the Numbers honor, but the winner this week is 25 million.

Facing first-time filing fears: Filing taxes can be scary. Just ask the millennials who admit that they're afraid of tackling their taxes.

Don't freak out, there's tax help out there — and here at the ol' blog.

If you're a young first-time taxpayer, one of this week's Daily Tax Tips has some advice.

But don't skip over it if you're past your salad days. Much of the advice can apply to folks regardless of age who are filing their first ever Form 1040.

Below is the link to the first-time filer info, as well as ones to the other tips that were posted the week of Feb. 22-26.

  1. Estate and gift tax limits (Monday, Feb. 22, 2016)
  2. 6 filing tips for new taxpayers (Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016)
  3. States with no income tax (Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016)
  4. 4 ways to get your IRS refund (Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016)
  5. Where's your refund? (Friday, Feb. 26, 2016)

If you've filed your return, be sure to check the Friday tip on tracking down your refund.

And if you've yet to file, check out all the tax tips that have been posted so far this year for ways to make the process easier and reduce your tax bill.

In addition to these end-of-week roundups, you can peruse all of 2016's tax tips on special tips pages for January and February. The tips will continue, highlighted each weekday in the upper right corner of the blog page, through the April 18 filing deadline.

Stay fearless, folks!

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
IRS sending refunds to families that claimed adoption tax credit carryforwards

October 18, 2026

Tax reform changes to the adoption tax credit meant some families didn’t get the new…

Read More
TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Credits/Deductions
Disasters
Family
Filing and Paying Taxes
Politics/Laws
Refunds
State Taxes
Tax Brackets/Inflation
Tax Tips
Comments
  • JOHN LAINE
    11 years ago Reply

    is 17% supposed to be high? It sounds about right or maybe a little low

  • Kay
    11 years ago Reply

    seems a tad low to me, but I’d need to go back and check prior years’ data.

Leave your comment