I Searched “How Taxes Work” the Night Before My TurboTax Interview

Most of us grew up thinking that doing taxes was an adults-only ritual: complex, most definitely terrifying, and something only parents or accountants could participate in. But once you crack the process open, even a little, you realize how much of that fear comes from not being shown the basics.

“You don't have a credit card?” My most financially literate friend, a soon-to-be Bay Street Excel serf who once earnestly taught me the concepts of circling back and maximizing shareholder value, looked at me as if he were reconsidering our entire five-year friendship.

“No…” I said, with the misplaced confidence of a child in possession of a freshly minted bank-issued card. “I have a debit card.”

He blinked slowly. “You're lying.”

And there I sat, in a dimly lit Italian restaurant that smelled faintly of tomatoes and collective delusion, surrounded by my closest friends, people I met studying at Rotman Commerce at the University of Toronto. People who can run a capital asset pricing model on 2 hours of sleep but can't remember each other's birthdays. And I realized that I, a 21-year-old dean's list business student—3 years deep into financial modelling, corporate marketing, and strategic management—still felt wildly unprepared when it came to my own finances.

It's not that I'm bad with money. It's that money has always existed in my life like a second language, one spoken fluently by everyone around me while I pick up only a few phrases.

My parents, cautious and pragmatic in the way first-generation immigrants often are, handled my finances with bureaucratic grace (which I am ever so grateful for). They paid my phone bill. Filed my taxes. Managed my banking. I assumed it was all “grown-up stuff” that happened behind a closed door, and that I would automatically acquire the knowledge of how to do it when I really needed to.

I didn't question it. It was easier not to.

The night before my TurboTax co-op placement interview, I sat in front of my laptop with the screen glowing at me, trying to absorb whatever tax basics I could from Google. Admittedly, I didn't even know what TurboTax actually did until that moment. I assumed it was some niche accounting tool I'd never personally need.

On my first day, that assumption evaporated instantly. 

The onboarding paperwork asked me to enter my annual income so payroll could process my pay. And it hit me. So much of early-adulthood taxes starts with something that simple: understanding how much you earn in a year.

And the most shocking thing I learned? Taxes are not nearly as complicated as I'd been conditioned to think.

If you're a university student, the tax returns you file while you're in school will likely be the simplest in your entire life. Most of us only have a few key pieces:

• a T4 slip from a part-time job and/or internship
• a T2202 tax form for tuition fees
• maybe a T5 if your savings account earned interest
• and a handful of eligible tax credits, such as for medical expenses or charitable donations

That's honestly it. Not exactly super complicated.

And surprisingly, once you understand what each slip is, taxes stop feeling like a maze and start feeling possibly even… logical. It's just matching information to the right boxes and letting the software do the heavy lifting.

Then, at the end of it all, you may get a tax refund. The average amount for TurboTax customers 25 and under of $4,822 is exactly what I need to join my friends for a trip to Japan next spring.

TurboTax makes taxes perfectly clear

Instead of endless forms, TurboTax breaks everything down into simple questions. The onboarding sessions taught me how the platform:

• Pulls your tax slips directly from the CRA with Auto-Fill My Return
• Flags errors before you file
• Identifies credits and deductions you might miss
• Shows you your refund estimate in real time

All the intimidating parts—the calculations, the cross-checking, the rules—are handled behind the scenes. What you're left with is structure, clarity, and steps that actually make sense.

Filing taxes went from feeling like a test I was destined to fail to a process I could actually understand. And honestly? The experience made me wonder why I let taxes scare me for so long. 

Doing your taxes yourself doesn't make you a financial genius. It just makes you informed. It is one of the first responsibilities you can take on as an adult.

And for students, new grads, and anyone who's been avoiding their CRA account out of pure dread, I promise: your first return will probably be the easiest one you'll ever file.

So if you're like me, someone who's spent years outsourcing your financial life without really meaning to, take this as a gentle nudge. Your taxes are not as intimidating as you may think. And you don't have to figure everything out at once.

Once I started understanding the basics of how taxes work, concepts that always seemed fuzzy suddenly snapped into focus. When you file a return for the first time, you start noticing the invisible systems that quietly shape your day-to-day life: how public services are funded, why certain things exist in one province and not another, and why some processes feel streamlined while others feel like medieval quests. 

I realized this most painfully while trying to take my driving test. There was no provincially run free practice test in Ontario, but there was one in British Columbia, where I grew up. B.C. residents do pay slightly higher taxes, which in part fund the province's driver readiness program. Suddenly, something I initially chalked up to randomness or unfairness actually had some context. 

When you understand taxes, even at a basic level, you understand more about how the society you live in functions, what you're paying for, and where your voice fits in. It turns abstract frustration into something grounded, something you can actually navigate.

You just have to start. And TurboTax is built to help you do exactly that. Simply, accurately, and without the panic spiral.

This year, I'm filing for myself. And if you're reading this, maybe it's your year too.

TurboTax makes tax filing simple

If you're 25 or younger, you can get unlimited expert help with your tax return. Offer ends April 15, 2026.

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