The morning was spent reviewing our tax guide, including the basic filing statuses, adjustments, deductions, and credits. After lunch, Suzanna passed out our materials, and we sharpened our pencils. Game faces on.
Given a mock set of W-2s and a 1099-MISC, we started in on the Form 1040 and accompanying schedules. Of course we couldn't get too far without the 100+ page instruction booklet. Before long, our table was covered in papers, calculators, and pencils:
We delved into all of our materials, flipping through pages, shuffling through schedules, and muttering to ourselves the whole time. Every once in a while, the members of our table checked in with each other to confirm that our addition was correct or that we were looking in the correct section of the booklet for direction. And after a little over 2 hours, we emerged victorious! We had completed the Form 1040 by hand. It wasn't nearly as painful as everyone said it would be, but that doesn't make me any less appreciative of the Benefit Bank tax module. Today we completed two tax scenarios on the OBB in about the same amount of time it took to complete one scenario by hand. Doing taxes with the OBB required a lot less clutter, a lot less chin-scratching, and a lot less frustration.
So while my confidence is up on tax-counseling, I'm still nervous about tax trainings. Tomorrow is my first tax training in Xenia, and while I only have 4 counselors attending training, I'm still afraid I'm going to embarrass myself by not knowing every little detail about taxes. Or even some of the big details! I know I felt this way before my first benefits training, and I survived that, so no matter what happens, tomorrow is just one day and I will learn from it.
I'll do my best, and hey, at the end of the day, I'll still have my completed Form 1040, ready to be framed in our office.
No comments:
Post a Comment