Tax Relief Made Easy
Adriana Boden (OI), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 3/22/04 Section: News
With April 15th fast approaching, it's time to pull out your old tax returns and figure out where you put last year's receipts for your charitable donations. For many years HBS students have been going to Lewis Weinstein of GenerationTax to help them sort through the maze of tax rules and regulations in hopes of reducing their tax burden to Uncle Sam.
Weinstein, a third generation accountant, recently sat down with the Harbus to discuss his best practices and lessons learned as a long-time veteran of preparing tax returns on behalf of HBS students.
Harbus: How long have you been working with the HBS community?
LW: I have been filing returns for 17 years and have been working with HBS students and faculty for the past 11 years. In fact, my first HBS client - Mark Hulak - is still a client today. Despite having a transient client base, over 80% of my clients choose to stay with me because I have the historical information on their taxes from previous years, in addition to key information about their work and personal situations, making it very easy for me to carry that information forward and make the process much easier for them.
Harbus: Why is it important for students who have recently made the transition from professional to student to sit down with a tax advisor?
LW: According to the IRS, 52% of all tax payers use a professional tax preparer. The three main reasons why a majority of people use a professional tax preparer include the following:
1. Time - Many people simply don't have the time to complete their own taxes.
2. Complexity - Many people don't have the aptitude to research the areas that relate and/or affect their taxes, particularly the more complex their taxes become.
3. Fear - Many people simply want to know there will be someone there to help them if and when they are ever audited.
Harbus: Can you explain in greater detail when and how a student's education expenses may be tax-deductible?
Weinstein, a third generation accountant, recently sat down with the Harbus to discuss his best practices and lessons learned as a long-time veteran of preparing tax returns on behalf of HBS students.
Harbus: How long have you been working with the HBS community?
LW: I have been filing returns for 17 years and have been working with HBS students and faculty for the past 11 years. In fact, my first HBS client - Mark Hulak - is still a client today. Despite having a transient client base, over 80% of my clients choose to stay with me because I have the historical information on their taxes from previous years, in addition to key information about their work and personal situations, making it very easy for me to carry that information forward and make the process much easier for them.
Harbus: Why is it important for students who have recently made the transition from professional to student to sit down with a tax advisor?
LW: According to the IRS, 52% of all tax payers use a professional tax preparer. The three main reasons why a majority of people use a professional tax preparer include the following:
1. Time - Many people simply don't have the time to complete their own taxes.
2. Complexity - Many people don't have the aptitude to research the areas that relate and/or affect their taxes, particularly the more complex their taxes become.
3. Fear - Many people simply want to know there will be someone there to help them if and when they are ever audited.
Harbus: Can you explain in greater detail when and how a student's education expenses may be tax-deductible?