Tax season is quickly approaching, and USF associate professor of accounting Luke Richardson said students should start preparing sooner rather than later. ORACLE GRAPHIC/YSABELLA ARDON

A USF accounting professor shared tips to make tax filing easier as the April 15 tax return deadline approaches.

Luke Richardson, an associate professor of instruction in accounting, said students can streamline the process by preparing early and reviewing documents to avoid common mistakes. 

“Filing E-file direct deposits can be the best way to get your money as quickly as possible, which I think is a big concern for a lot of folks, students in particular,” Richardson said.

Richardson said that although some students use other people’s help or software programs to file taxes, they should always review the submission.

Incorrect taxpayer identification, social security numbers, extra zeroes, letters and other errors can cause a headache and slow down the filing process, he said. 

Richardson also said students should report any income when filing taxes — whether from part-time work, social media work, cryptocurrency or even sports betting.

“If you’re doing something and being paid for it, general rules, it’s taxable,” Richardson said.

Richardson said that learning to file taxes, along with familiarizing themselves with new provisions and deductions, can make the tax season easier for USF students. 

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Richardson said that new provisions and policies in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill affect how students file and claim tax deductions. 

One provision in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is the “no tax on tips,” which allows tip-paid workers to claim deductions on the first $25,000 earned in qualifying tips, according to the IRS.

“No tax on tips doesn’t mean that tip income is not taxable,” Richardson said, “It’s actually a deduction that allows you to offset the tip income up to a certain amount.”

Still, Richardson said the most important thing for students to note when filing taxes is not to pay for tax return preparations unless necessary.

He said that most students do not have investment accounts and will have only a W-2 from a job, and therefore receive “simpler” returns.

Additionally, students can request assistance through the Free File partnership — an agreement between the IRS and certain tax software providers that offers free services to eligible individuals.

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Jake Rice, a senior criminology major, said he does not particularly like tax-filing programs and that his father helps him with the process instead.

“A lot of programs like that [are] time-consuming, or just the process of finding them is hard,” Rice said.

Rice said that although he would be open to trying tax-filing software, he is concerned about the risk of being scammed. 

“I don’t want to put my information in something I don’t trust, and if it’s just a random app, little reviews or not good reviews, I’m probably not going to pick it,” Rice said.

Rice said some of his friends are reluctant to file tax returns because they aren’t sure they worked and received enough to do so.

Still, Richardson said students should file taxes even if they “only worked a little bit” or did not earn a high income that year.

“[Not filing taxes] is a mistake for a lot of students,” he said.

Richardson said the IRS issues an annual announcement listing the amount of money that could have been returned to taxpayers but wasn’t because some failed to file.

More than $1.1 billion in refunds were unclaimed in April 2025, according to the IRS. 

“It’s like a gift to the federal government,” Richardson said.

Richardson said people can request a tax file extension — which gives them more time to fil and send in their returns, rather than more time to pay it.

“What you don’t get more time for is paying your tax return, and a lot of people don’t understand that difference,” Richardson said.

Still, missed tax return filings can be submitted for up to three years after the original deadline and will allow the taxpayer to receive the refund due, according to the IRS.

Rice said that he wouldn’t avoid filing a tax return.

“If I end up paying more, at least I’ll end up getting it back,” Rice said.

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Elena Levy, a senior English major, said she thinks students often dread filing taxes because they lack knowledge of how or why to file.

“No one is responsible enough for that,” Levy said. “But it’s also not just like a big-boy thing. It’s too complicated.”

Levy said that national economic and social factors could also lead students to dread filing taxes and not even realize they need to do so.

“I think it is [a reflection of these factors] because a lot of people just aren’t fully employed,” Levy said.

Other financial-related anxieties — including worries about rent and tuition — can affect students more during tax season, Levy said. 

“I see a lot of unease about that stuff, and it could also be related to just general economic anxiety,” Levy said. “You don’t want to think about that when you’re trying to get your degree.”