I mentioned that I’m enjoying working. Here are some more details about the job. My title is Tax preparer. I use software and other information to prepare taxes in an office with in person clients. We can also do remote returns with uploaded documents and remote signing. Every day I learn something new! It’s been very interesting and mentally stimulating. I get excited when my clients are happy with their refunds.

I’ve always liked the idea of working in an office, but for some reason I’ve never had an office job! In college I focused on “people” subjects like psychology, sociology, history, and child development. This job provides a unique opportunity to work with clients who are mostly from a different community than my own. It’s been almost like a social work or human services job at times. Many of the clients rely on these tax credits to supplement their income. Ultimately I would like to teach money management skills.

Training

The initial training was done through live online sessions and self-paced computer modules three days a week for two weeks, unpaid. Then we had a test. The classes were fun but a little stressful because I was so out of practice with using my brain. I was also sick during that time. I had to process a lot of information quickly! I had some doubts about my ability to handle it, but I just kept working hard.

Then we took a break for a few weeks and then we started paid training online. Then we had the district meeting . In December we finally got to visit our actual offices and do some practice returns using the tax software . Originally they had me set to work at a Walmart kiosk location but they switched me to a storefront location, which I like better.

The first week was busy with people coming in for early refund advances based on paystubs. Then it slowed down. Now that people are getting their W-2s it’s getting busier.

Taxes: Not the same for everyone

Americans pay a lot of taxes!Around $3 trillion in 2022. But not everyone pays. Many people pay zero taxes and many others actually get paid when they file their returns . Yesterday for example , I did a return that resulted in an $11,489 refund, not a typo. Of that, all but $2,000 was tax credits. Tax credits are another form of income redistribution . They are also an effective incentive to get people to work even if they only get paid a little, because for most of the credits you need earned income to qualify .

Even though I’m a libertarian at heart, I’m actually not opposed to these credits because our economy is so unbalanced that without programs like this, many people couldn’t survive in our high-priced economy , or at least they’d have to live with someone else.

Well I hope you enjoyed my report . Keep me and my family in your prayers as I continue to work while Grace is in the hospital. I know she’s in good hands.