A NOTE ABOUT THIS SERIES: My recent posts on budgeting got me thinking about a very helpful article I was given after graduating from college. It covered several important real world topics that new graduates take on after finishing college. Since most of the topics involve money, and that ties so closely to work and earnings, I feel this series will be helpful and relevant. Further, one of the core audiences my book can help is recent grads. Please pass this article on to anyone you know that is or will soon be a recent graduate.

The first type of tax I’m sure you’re familiar with is sales tax. With few exceptions, we all pay it on things we buy. It varies by state (here in Tennessee, we have one of the highest sales tax rates.)

Unless you’ve started your own business (see this earlier post ), the only other tax you should have to be concerned with at this point is federal income tax—and state income tax if your state has one. These taxes must be filed every year before April 15th. This table will help you determine whether you’ve earned enough taxable income to be required to file Federal.

When you start a new job, one of the forms you’ll fill out is a W4. This allows you to determine how taxes are withheld from your earnings. If you do have dependents, claim them. Claiming more dependents holds out less tax from each paycheck. So, if you’re filing as Single and you would rather sway toward not owing tax and more toward getting a tax refund each year, don’t claim Single and 1 (yourself as a dependent) on your W4; just fill it out for Single and 0. When claiming dependents, be sure you’re not claiming a dependent whom someone else is also claiming.

Most of you will be able to take the standard deduction. The standard deduction is a dollar amount or threshold that will factor in to how much tax you owe—or the amount of money you’ll get back as a tax return. This figure can vary year to year.

Keep track of how much money you tithe and give to charities and such throughout the year since some organizations may not send out a year-end summary for you, or you may end up missing an e-statement in your Spam folder. Also keep up with mileage driven for volunteer work you do. If you don’t have enough of these type items to surpass the standard deduction figure, you’ll use it to figure your taxes. Here’s more information from the IRS on the standard deduction.

Most of you should be able to use a 1040EZ form to prepare your taxes. You’ll need a regular 1040 form if your taxes are more involved; here’s a good article to help you determine which to use. You should be able to get these forms at your local library; call first to check, and save yourself a trip.

If your taxes are fairly simple, you can probably file them yourself on a site like taxact.com or turbotax.com. If not, you can use a local tax establishment like Liberty Tax or H&R Block; however, a freelance/independent tax preparer usually costs less. Ask your parents or social network for help finding a recommended one. Look for a tax preparer, not a Tax Attorney.

When you begin to file your taxes, you’ll need a 1040 form, your W2 forms from any job you worked, any 1099 forms you receive (forms issued for contract work if you’ve earned, in most cases, more than $600 in a year), all investment (some are various types of 1099s) and charitable giving statements you receive, and the total mileage you drove for volunteer work.

As you (or your tax preparer) enter everything for your federal tax filing, you’ll be asked questions about things like whether you bought a car or home during the tax year (your answers may factor into your tax return as well.) Then at the end, you’ll find out either how much you owe (this amount must be paid to the IRS and postmarked by April 15th) or how much the IRS owes you (how much money you can expect to receive back from the government.) You can choose a hard check or direct deposit (faster) by which to receive this money. Then, make sure to file your state tax return as well if your state requires one. Keep a copy of your tax return form.

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