As a student – or as someone who has just graduated college recently – you probably have student loans that you’re dealing with. You can deduct that interest on your federal income tax return, and there are also tax credits that exist for students. Be sure that you’re claiming your maximum refund, because you’re owed that money and you’ll want to get it back so you can put it to good use. There’s no point in letting the IRS just keep it, especially when you’ve been paying your taxes and trying to work toward getting a better job (after which you’ll be asked to pay more taxes, because you’ll be earning more money). When you’re just out of high school and into college with a low-paying job, you’ll generally fall into the lowest tax bracket.
Of course, if you’re someone who has gone back to school after an extended time in the workforce, you might be making substantially more – and paying higher taxes. Either way, you should know how to file so you can claim your student loan interest and other student credits. If you’re not sure how to handle this, you can get tax tips from the pros, or you can have a professional handle your return. Doing your own return costs you less, but not if you miss a lot of deductions that you could have taken.
Be sure you know your filing status, and whether you can be claimed by someone else on his or her return. You should also know that you can get deductions if you have children, and for a lot of medical expenses. Don’t assume that you just have to pay and pay, and that you can’t get anything back. Just take legitimate student deductions, and you shouldn’t have any problems. That will help you maximize your refund, too.