Last week I wrote about the wonder of a summer holiday and how taking a break and thinking outside of normal work parameters can increase one’s overall happiness and translate to more productivity at work. That only referred to short mental breaks, though, for we cannot leave work completely behind in the summer.

In fact, there are some people who may do most of their work over the summer, as many students take on summer jobs to either earn extra money or save enough to get through the rest of the year. If you are in this position, or know someone who is, make that the tax implications of this work is understood.

For those who make the bulk of their income over these few warm months, they probably don’t have much to worry about when it comes to their tax burden, especially if they are working a regular job with a regular paycheck that  comes with a W-2 at the end of the year. Whatever they owe is likely covered through the withholding in their paycheck, and many can even expect a refund.

Of course, for those who have income of other sorts, this may not be the case, and answers about their taxes can be more difficult.  These answers get even trickier if one does not receive a regular paycheck and instead qualifies as self-employed. This is a growing situation across all age groups, as technology increasingly lets people work in different ways, but it seems to be even more prevalent amongst the youth who tend to be the most skilled in navigating that new world.

Now again, if one only works a few months and makes a nominal amount of money, your tax burden will be minimal.  But if you do make enough to owe some taxes at the end of the year, these people need to be extra cautious for none of that bill was already paid through paycheck withholding.

I would never claim that these youngsters present some of the tougher tax problems that come through my door. They do, however, present a different set of challenges, and some that are unfamiliar to many. What one pays for tuition, in student loan interest, or gets from ROTC pay are numbers that will end up affecting your tax picture.

And what about those who work in a job where they receive tips? Are they working on recording those correctly to make sure they can file a full tax return that will not come back to bite them in the future?

Again, the chances of these being large bills and giant problems are not huge. With a little knowledge and forethought, though, they can even be nonexistent. Also, there is probably no better time to start learning about the tax system than when it starts to affect you. So if there is anyone if your life in this position, don’t be afraid to have a little talk about this. And if you feel like you don’t know all the answers they need, don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who does.