Opinion: It should’t take an advanced degree to do your taxes

Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.

I am 17 years old. I have a job and the good fortune this year to have earned enough to have to report my income to the government. Unfortunately, as I am a contractor, and not an employee, my tax situation was slightly more complicated than your average teenager working at the mall. And I struggled.

I think I’m reasonably intelligent. English is my first language, and I can read well. I am going to be a senior in high school this fall and have almost completed the education expected of all American youth. I should be able to comprehend tax forms.

I needed to fill out a W-9 form. It asked what I was. Sole proprietor or a single-member LLC? I have never heard these words in this order. I had to Google it and discovered I was a sole proprietor.

Next, I had to fill out a Schedule C. It required Schedule 1 and Schedule SE. The Schedule SE needed me to fill out Schedule 2. Schedule 2 directed me to do Form 8919. The IRS forms were a hydra ー as soon as I began to complete one, it required another before I could finish. I had to walk to the printer four times to get copies of new forms I never imagined.

I turned to the IRS website for help.

That was like walking into the Department of Motor Vehicles, where there were lines of people who are stressed and confused, or into a hospital emergency room or an airport.  I felt like I lived in a cruel and unloving universe.

Reading over the rules regarding writing off business expenses, I began to feel as though the IRS is actively malicious, trying to catch me making a mistake.

After seven hours over two days, I still had not finished. If I ever do, I’ll still have to tackle my state tax forms.

Now, I didn’t make a lot of money. I figure I’ll have to pay Uncle Sam only about $400, maybe less. If I had to pay an accountant to do my taxes, they’d probably do it in a lot less time but they’d charge a whole lot more than I’m paying in taxes. Who’s the winner in this picture?

Would it not be possible for the IRS, a government agency that employs over 79,000 people, to write a short disclaimer at the top of their instructions? It could read something like this:

“Hello, unfortunate soul, you who are simply trying to comply with a legal obligation. If you are a sole proprietor or contractor trying to give us money, we feel obligated to tell you that in order to fill out this form you may also need to supply two other documents and maybe more.”

It seemed as though the IRS is just being mean toward small business owners and the self-employed. They constantly asked for forms that are traditionally supplied by an employer and gave minimal or no instructions on what to do if I didn’t have one. They did not provide resources the way they would if you were elderly, or a farmer, or even if you were a member of a religious order.

I can imagine how much more confusing it is for small business owners who don’t have an army of tax consultants on their side, like large corporations do.  It’s absurd that the group which most represents the idea of the American dream also has some of the hardest times dealing with the U.S. government.

As I write this article, the coffee table in front of me at home is covered in papers intended for the IRS. I have counted 43 tabs opened on my laptop, each one harder to comprehend than a 1996 video recorder manual. “What is accrual accounting?” “How do I fill out a form 1040 without a W2?”

Let me stress that I am not opposed to paying my taxes. Taxes are mandatory, and for good reason. They pay for social programs, schools and roads. They are used in disaster relief, and for food assistance.

And yet there are serious consequences for adults who make mistakes on their returns or simply give up and don’t file at all. Or they have to dig deep into their pockets for tax software systems or accountants.

Why is our system so complicated that one of the most fundamental parts of citizenship is incomprehensible? I hope that our system can be improved, as I have developed a fear of compound interest and would prefer for the IRS not to own me by the time I reach 24.

Julia Dang is a student at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos.