I began my career in accounting in 2002 with a two-year stint at an H&R Block in Bosque Farms, New Mexico, an experience I refer to as 1040 Bootcamp. As soon as people in the community got their W-2s, they stampeded to our office to get their taxes done, eager for the quick cash from their tax refund. When the office opened at 9 am, there were enough people in line to keep us busy until noon.
Bosque Farms is a rural community. Most of our clients were eligible for the earned income tax credit. Those tax returns were largely identical: a W-2 (or two or ten, depending on their work situation), some dependents, and maybe some mortgage interest. We cranked those returns out in about 20 minutes.
Even with the repetitive nature of the work, I learned lessons from those days that have stayed with me to this day. As the future of accounting and bookkeeping moves toward AI, the human side of our work will become even more important.
We are among the most trusted professionals, and we are privy to our clients’ personal secrets and tragedies. I heard about abusive spouses and tragic deaths, as well as hopes, dreams, and tales of redemption.
One morning, there was a brief lull in the usual clamor of multiple tax conversations, and a young woman’s voice suddenly rang out in the quiet: “And then, I woke up with a gun to my head, and he said if I ever left him, he’d kill me.” All eyes in the room swiveled to the young woman working with my co-worker, Robin, and just as quickly swiveled away in embarrassment and shock. Robin told me later how she listened to this woman’s tale, held her hand, passed her a tissue, and gave her the phone number for the local women’s shelter.
It’s easy to forget that many of our neighbors may not know the basics of income and taxation.
Alan was a mechanic for a car-rental company and was livid when I told him that his refund this year would be $1,000 less than he’d received the year before. I pointed out that this was because he had earned $10,000 more from his job this year, and so he was earning his way out of poverty. Even though I could show him he was $9,000 ahead this year, he was outraged. “What am I supposed to do? Work less?”
Sometimes, the most challenging part of 1040 Bootcamp was figuring out which adults in a household were eligible to claim which children or other household members as dependents.
Joanna was a spry 55-year-old who made a decent living cleaning hotel rooms. We figured out that she could claim her alcoholic ex-husband as a dependent. He lived in a camper in her backyard. She bought him groceries, and other than a tiny stipend from the VA, she was his sole source of support. She couldn’t be married to him, but out of the goodness of her heart, she helped him survive.
While knowledge of these gives us superpowers, sometimes it’s something else in our background that gives us an edge.
Armando wheeled himself into our office and began speaking Spanish. From the recesses of my brain, I pulled out my decade-old college Spanish. Between my rusty Spanish and his limited English, I understood that he had been seriously injured at work and was confined to a wheelchair. His only taxable income was the bank interest from a cash settlement, which was well below the threshold for filing a tax return. I explained that he didn’t need to file a tax return, which cheered him greatly, and he wheeled himself back out.
I was continually amazed by people making the most of unfortunate circumstances.
Ernest had bagged my groceries at the local supermarket, and from my casual conversations with him, I gathered that he probably wasn’t capable of anything much more demanding than that. He came in the office one day with his father, who used a cane and looked to be in terrible health. Ernest was now the sole breadwinner for that household.
In a world where so many seem to be trying to get away with as much as possible by lying, cheating, or stealing, it was refreshing to meet people committed to doing the right thing.
From his appearance, Billy had led a rough life. In his early 30s, he appeared much older. His smile was missing a few teeth. “Ma’am, I haven’t filed my taxes for a number of years. I want to make things right,” he told me. He passed me documents for five or six separate tax years. Some were W2s, others were final pay stubs. I told him that the earliest years were outside the window for getting a refund and that the IRS likely wouldn’t care, but he wanted to “make things right,” nonetheless.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. In rural communities, where high-paying jobs are scarce, self-employment and side-gigs can make a big difference.
Peter and Maria both worked at Walmart, but on the side, they were building a power-washing business. Maria explained the different pieces of equipment they had bought: a pressure washer, assorted nozzles and hoses, a generator, and a trailer to haul everything around. Together, we figured out which pieces of equipment they could depreciate and which they could expense. They beamed with pride when they shared their revenue for their first year in operation.
In my two years at Block, I prepared tax returns for many people who were earning way below the poverty line. But for many of those people, that tiny W2 or 1099 from their very part-time job was the best they could do.
Sherri was rebuilding her life after years of meth addiction and came into the office with her mom and young daughter. During the worst of her addiction, Sherri’s mom had taken custody of her granddaughter, but now that she was clean and gainfully employed, Sherri and her daughter were living in a tiny apartment carved out of her mom’s garage. This was her first job and her first time filing a tax return. She was proud to be on the path to financial stability.
These stories illustrate the human aspect of tax work. The crucial part that transcends any automation, or technology, or changes in tax law. The part that AI can’t yet replace, and likely never will. This is the part of our work that we need to strengthen.
Our specialized knowledge and skills grant us the privilege of entering our clients’ lives and businesses. Every time we work with a client, we have the opportunity to change their lives.
This is our superpower.
Let’s be the human in the loop so we can help build a better world for everyone.