"It's time to start thinking about taxes!" exclaimed Lt. Jennifer Schwartau, deputy command judge advocate for aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).

Tax season has arrived and W-2 forms are available for download. Schwartau said the first step to filing taxes is the gathering and preparation of documents, such as the W-2 form found on MyPay, Social Security numbers of dependents, and any other tax-related forms received in 2016.

"It's important to prepare ahead of time," said Schwartau. "If you scramble around to gather documents in the last second, then you are going to miss the deadline. The sooner you file, the sooner you can get your refund -- which means the sooner you get your money back from the government."

Sailors can download free tax-filing software from http://militaryonesource.mil and file themselves, or they can use the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) team on base for help. The VITA Tax Assistance Center (TAC) building B-30 onboard Naval Station Norfolk will provide support on the process of filing taxes.

"Filing is pretty easy because the W-2 is arranged in blocks," said Schwartau. "If you follow the instructions on the software you are using, it will tell you what block from the W-2 you need to input information from. So it should correspond easily."

Schwartau said the biggest misconception about tax season is people may think they don't owe any taxes, but the government may have been withholding from their paychecks. Schwartau suggested everyone should file anyway, especially since it is a civic duty, which can lead to charges from the IRS and possible jail time if avoided.

"The other big thing about tax season is actually figuring out which state to file in," said Schwartau. "For military, you don't have to file in Virginia just because you live here. You may use your residence you had established before joining the military."

Residency was an issue for one GW Sailor, Chief Machinist's Mate (Nuclear) Adam Roberts, who said the Virginia Department of the Treasury stated he owed approximately $10,000 in back taxes from 2009 and 2010 after filing his taxes in 2015 under his North Carolina residency from before his enlistment.

It took Roberts about two months to contact the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to receive his leave and earnings statements (LES) from 2009 and 2010, his full tax returns from those years, and to contact the Virginia Department of the Treasury. Eventually he received all of his funds, but Roberts said his tax return was delayed greatly.

"I believe it's because I was residing in Virginia while stationed here, and returned later upon re-registering property and vehicles," said Roberts. "That's when I probably appeared to owe [the Virginia Department of the Treasury] taxes."

Roberts recommends anyone who returns to a duty station, where they will have to reside, contact the departments of motor vehicles and treasury to clarify their residency while filing taxes.

Schwartau said people may be overwhelmed by all the forms and numbers during tax season.

"It's pretty simple," said Schwartau. "Whatever income you got in gets taxed. Whatever you get back, in terms of your exemptions and -- if you have children -- your dependent credits, that's the money you get back."

Pay close attention and reach out for questions on anything which may be a discrepancy. If you're not sure, talk to your chain of command.

The official IRS website, http://www.irs.gov, can provide more information on requirements, deadlines, and possible extensions.

The IRS due date for filing a 2016 income tax return is April 18.

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