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Generations, part 2: Millennials and tax compliance resources

September 4, 2016

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In the first part of this two-part post, we began discussing a few of the ways in which the different approach that the Millennial generation tends to take to tax compliance compared to other generational cohorts.

We noted, for example, that Millennials tend to have a lot of concerns about taxes. More than 4 out of every 5 Millennials in a survey conducted by NerdWallet, a personal finance website, reported being worried about some aspect of their taxes.

In this part of the post, let’s look at some strategies that Millennials can use to get beyond tax worries and stay in compliance with the law without undue effort.

One important thing to keep in mind, even for do-it-yourself inclined Millennials, is that assistance is out there. Even if you think a tax preparer would charge you too much, it may be possible to negotiate a more affordable fee.

Indeed, if your parents or siblings are already using a certain preparer and are pleased with the service, you might be able to get that preparer to do your return for a family discount.

Another useful step is to take advantage of e-filing. Rather inexplicably, Millennials tend to lag other generations in rates for e-filing. This does not make a lot of sense for a generation that grew up online.

To be sure, there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about privacy of your information anytime you submit tax returns to the IRS. There are plenty of identity theft tax scams out there that the IRS has not been able to prevent. But the reality is it is actually safer to e-file with encrypted tax software than it is to mail it in.

Tax Controversy