Dave’s “Boomer” Thoughts on Gen-Z’s Tax Trauma 

I am a barber. I had a 17 year old sitting in my chair one day saying that his dad was taking him to look at a couple of universities in Boston and San Diego (he lives in Boise) because he thought either of those places would be “fun” to be in college. He wanted to study philosophy. I asked him, “Do you know the difference between a large cheese pizza and a philosophy degree?” Nope. “Well, the large cheese pizza can feed a family of four.” And he said, “I don’t know what you mean,” and I said “Of course you don’t, but some day you will.”

If you really want to be 'brought to tears' over taxes be self-employed, or run your own business!

I think CNBC just didn't realize the younger generations have redefined words a bit... I can imagine them saying: "I LITERALLY cried when I saw my taxes!!!" And CNBC was like, "Wow, they literally cried!!!"

Gen Z here! I’ve been doing taxes for years now, while it is not fun, I have never cried. I think Ramsey is right here. I think most of us understand that it is just something we have to do and we get it done and go about our day. Paying taxes is not the end of the world.

I’ll be honest, I was damn near close to tears when I saw how much of my money the federal government wasted last year

I drink while I do my taxes. I start out slow and when I hit E-file I finish the bottle.

Whats more frustrating is not the taxes but how its absolutely wasted. Govt needs to get on a budget and cut spending...but that will never happen.

Paid like 30k in taxes this year; the thought of the opportunity costs made me wanna cry too

1998 Generation Z here. Not all of us are irresponsible with money. Have a government job, pension, 457 plan, brokerage account, Roth IRA, net worth is over 100k at 25 years old. Not fair to put eggs in one basket. We all have different experiences.

They never had a part-time job during high school. My son got his first pay check and saw how much they took out and he quickly understood who you vote for makes a difference in your pay check. "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times." - G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain

Listening to this is the perfect example of why this show will be done when Dave retires. She is better than most of the minions that take calls, but the young ones just don't have the papa Dave wisdom or life experience to be good advisors....yet. Thank you Dave for disagreeing with them on the show when they ask stupid questions and give stupid suggestions. I know you are grooming them to continue on, but when Dave leaves, so will most of the audience. It's noble to want to continue the good work, but Dave is an amazing one of a kind.

Pay your taxes - other countries are depending on you

We are both self employed. We owed $530,000 in Federal taxes alone. Not to mention state income tax in 19 states. And AOC and Bernie say we don't pay our fair share.

The tax return is what makes me want to cry. The complexity and time consumption to prepare a tax return is ridiculous. My 2023 return was 74 pages long.

I am an early millennial here, I remember that the very first shock I had about taxes was my very first paycheck or summer job at 16. I remember taking it home to dad and having him look at it to make sure it was correct because it seemed like it should be wrong. And he explained to me that it was correct and help me to understand what all the different taxes were being taken out. And then he helped me file at the end of the year. But after that, I was pretty much on my own with it so you taught me and then just let me loose. It was a great experience all things considered, and I learned very quickly and very early about taxes and how much was actually being taken out.

Forget therapy I go straight to the emergency room

Almost every other country in the world: Open the app, check what the government already filled in for you, correct where necessary, press send. Done. Takes somewhere between 5 to 15 minutes.

Had to pay $15k a couple of years ago. No time to cry. You want things gotta pay for it. - Millennial

As a boomer, I remember our generation as highly criticized for our major differences with our elders…rock & roll, women’s movement, anti-war, civil rights, sexual freedom, and supposedly drugs (although this was way overhyped). Yet the boomers I knew started working our asses off even in HIGH SCHOOL, got jobs and were largely self supporting by late teens or early 20’s and a high percentage who went to college put themselves through. The truth is, the world changes and the state of knowledge and opportunities differ among the generations. With today’s internet and tremendous access to useful knowledge for nearly everything, I think younger people know way more about many things than we did as boomers at the same age. We had to slowly work our way through many books to learn what we needed to know, we often had working class parents who knew nothing about higher education although they wanted us to have it. Our parents were very strict and if anything went wrong, we were assumed to be in the wrong, not the teacher or store clerk or boss or anyone else. We had to take responsibility for our actions and our mistakes. While we all know about the 25 year old in the basement playing video games, I think this is the outlier, not the norm. I believe many of the GenZ and Millennials are better educated, dedicated to new ideas of social Justice, caring and hard working individuals. I am impressed with many of these young adults and I hope they get their chance to save and change the world, we need their vision and ideas to embrace the wider world beyond their personal success. I also hope they turn to God, this is the most important and valuable step for anyone now, or in the future.

Having paychecks directly deposited we no longer see all that is taken out unless we deliberately look for it!

Gen X here. I'm very organized and keep all my paperwork. But I do pay someone to do my taxes because it keeps me from first degree murder charges. 😂

The rapport between daughter and dad here is excellent!

As a holder of a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, I went through enough trauma in my tax courses trying to get a decent grade. We were tested our on knowledge of doing taxes for those who ran small businesses or those who owned several rental properties...the old school way before Turbo Tax was invented.

"The difference between death and taxes is that death does not get worse every time Congress meets" - - - Mark Twain

First time I did my taxes I had no idea how or why I had paid so much in taxes and seemingly got nothing for it. Definitely something school never bothered to attempt teaching me; but I do know the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

I was thinking he would have a bad take, but I’m really surprised! I agree with his take. Damn! 😂

I don’t believe in income/property taxes. If the U.S. got rid of both so much money would just poor in like no tomorrow. I don’t know for sure but I’m guessing there are trillions of dollars in tax haven countries that should really be here. The economy wouldn’t collapse, it would explode. Look at Monaco, they have no Income/property nor capital gains taxes yet they’re flourishing with no major exports. In my view point the IRS keeps money out of the U.S. and that’s a huge problem.

I’m an Xer that loves my Zoomers. Every generation has its crap and its successes. But Dave’s “that’s … fabulous” made my day

It's time to get rid of taxes.

Gen Z here, I’ve never heard anyone say they need a therapist for taxes. “Have you done your taxes yet” is the most the conversation progresses. Lol

I cried this year. Thousands gone in a blink of an eye.

“Are you sad about wearing a coat?” 😂😭

"Charge the gates of Hell with a water pistol". 😂

Good grief, everyday things in life create trauma? They have raised a bunch of people who can't deal with the real world. It is so sad.

I’m a millennial and I never learned anything about taxes in highschool. So maybe start with that.

I'm Gen Z and paid over $100K in taxes last year. I don't care about the amount, it is what it is, but the tax filing process is undoubtedly unnecessarily annoying, confusing, frustrating, and expensive.

Most kids want free stuff until they have to pay. The difference is at what age do they realize this.

Paid 30k in taxes. and I run a business to so paid the quarterly tax write after. Siphoned 40K from me plus $1K car tab renewal in CA all in one week. It’s absolutely theft, the roads i drive in are still shit and the streets are still unsafe to walk down.

I'm self employed and I'm more angry than anything because I know the government is probably just putting them in their pocket. But I got to pay them angry or not.

As a GenX, I get everything together and get it organized before I start the filing process. I also read as much as I can about changes for filing before I file.

As somebody on the border of millennial/Gen Z, I feel like it's really been the parenting that's gotten softer. Parents have shielded their children from the realities of the world and they make their kids believe that everything's just going to "work out" in the end. Parents need to do less sheltering.

She doesn’t seem to think voting and taxes are related. No wonder these young people have issues. They want to do things their way based on their feelings but not have to deal with the consequences. Voting affects taxes.

One of our Gen Zers got yelled at for being on his phone all the time and he had a hissy fit and stormed off to call his daddy. Seriously, if his dad didn't work for me i would have fired him after 3 days. The absent mindedness is just so incredible

It's not just the taxes, it is the complexity of the forms. I was in a job where I didn't play FICA, but I was starting my own business which also required FICA. I remember the instructions saying that people in my position needed to reference a specific regulation in the tax code ... so I went to find the regulation. It wasn't there. Now with my own business, a mortgage, and investments, a husband with his own business we hire professionals.

I’m 27 and I owed a lot of taxes this year…..Guess what I did!? Nothing. Just paid it and moved on. That’s life.

In the UK our employment taxes are paid automatically every week or month. They're managed by payroll teams and you see how much tax you've paid in your payslip. You only submit a tax return yourself if you're self-employed.

Taxes in Canada is SO easy now compared to when I started filing 20+ years ago. Back then it was super annoying doing it with pen and paper. Kids today could never handle that.

I think there is an element here that Dave is overlooking- if I heard her right, they are saying that Gen-Z talked to their counselors about tax related stress. I think most of Gen-Z isn't stressing over the amount, but instead over how complicated they perceive taxes to be while at the same time being afraid of the consequences. If they use Venmo, they are being told they will have to report what happens there to the IRS (that is really only true if they are selling things). If they buy crypto, they are told they will have to pay taxes on the gains and tracking that is difficult (there is truth in this one, but only in that it gets complicated the more often you transact). If they open a business, they will have to track their expenses (true, but once they understand what they are doing, they would do this anyway to make sure they are making money). And with all of this, if they get it wrong they are told agents with guns will come visit them (only really true if they can tell you cheated or if you end up owing more than $25k).

We all need to pay attention and vote accordingly. All the"free" stuff they want or think others should get are not free.

Gen zish ('95) here. Got angry with a surprise $10k tax bill. Luckily I had a full emergency fund, and it sucked, but I wasnt screwed. No therapy necessary

Dave only encounters GenZ's that are interested in helping themselves by calling in, or motivated by working for him. That is a small percentage of the overall.

Starting last year my local city entered a RITA (Region Income Tax Agency). I get to do Federal taxes, my tax software uses most the information to file State tax. Then I have to create a RITA account to then re-enter all the information I entered and submitted to the State and Federal Government because the freaking town can't communicate with Federal or State Government. Takes 45 minutes for them to say I owe $0 because I work in the same town I live. If I don't file RITA i get fined even though I own nothing. If they could get their database to talk with the federal or state they would know that. My time is free to them though and it makes fines out of $0 tax bills.

I'm a millennial and I used to whine about how the system was stacked against us and so on back in my 20s. Now in my 40s I think more like a boomer. I think a lot of it is maturity and experiencing the real world changes us.

As a Gen Z, instead of crying about my taxes, I just went and became a CPA. Now I get paid to cry while doing other people's taxes.

When I do my income-tax report I can't avoid thinking about the TEA PARTY REVOLT. BF said "two things are certain in life DEAD AND TAXES ". Enjoy the journey.

I’m a millennial and I recently had a conversation with a member of the gen z community which is entering the work force and he was floored by taxes lol

"Vote!" For whom? Both major parties waste our money like drunken sailors on shore leave.

Taxes keep getting higher and the money we make is worth less and less due to inflation.

Gen X here. I paid 9k in taxes on ONE CHECK I wanted to cry too.

Take a pic W-2 and press send. Digital signature on file.

I am the old millennial and I will tell you gen z is soft !

Taxes? It's the Govt over spending that's the REAL tax rate. Inflation is the back door tax we don't get to vote on.

I'm a millennial and the most stressful time of the year is tax season. The harder I work the more the government penalizes you.

I'm 39 and I'm happy that I wasn't raised to make "trauma" _the_ central of part my identity.

I think many of the Gen-Z folks stressing out over tax season are the same folks who suffered math anxiety in school. They barely squeaked through their mathematics classes, performed below grade level in math all through school, and continue to struggle with numbers as adults.

What i don't understand why taxes are stressful? Just go to your tax prep place, H&R or a local one and have them do it? Even if you have investments, etc, you get all end of year forms you bring in that your cpa will do for you. You literally pay them and they take care of it for you.

If you keep voting for big government. You’ll keep getting bigger tax bills.

It’s the old, “tough times make strong men, strong men make good times, good times make weak men, weak men make tough times” issue. We had it too good, so yes much of the younger generations are in fact weak. For sure there are some strong ones though.

A couple of my grandparents friends immigrated here from Europe after WW2. They said they were happy to pay taxes here after living through that horror.

Most genz file 1040 and pay less than 10k a year in taxes and don't owe but usually get a refund.

I disagree with the statement that Gen Z does not have it tough. I have two young adults in that generation. The cost of living is ridiculous, along with higher education. I taught my children to be independent and that is what they are trying to be. They sacrifice a lot, including going many days with little food. I’ve talked to other young people that age, and it’s super hard for them too . I try to help when I can, but I know that they have to learn on their own. I always remind them that this time will pass and never judge your life by where you are in your 20s.

To be fair, taxes have gotten far more complicated and a small mistake can cause either paying more or risking an audit. I used to be able to do mine on a paper form, now it takes days to navigate a multi page website. I know I have to pay, I just dont want to over pay. It stresses me out.

The first time I had to file taxes my dad (who is a boomer) simply said to me "figure it out". Ever since I've learned to be organized and not stressed out about it. Actually figured out that you can file your taxes before the due date.

I am about the same age as her. I remember the first time I filled out my own taxes I thought this cannot actually be the way we do this. Im sure I came close to tears trying to understand half the stuff they were talking about, thinking I would go to prison if I got it wrong. I spent days and days looking stuff up so I knew what they meant. We learned calculus in high school. CALCULUS but not taxes! Or budgeting!

Taxes are a double whammy. The government takes you money, which is bad enough. But they use the money to reduce your freedom, increase regulations, and generally use that money to hassle you more.

Sometimes taxes bring me to tears. But I'm an accountant so it's not mine lol. It's not the amount either. It's more the ever increasing complexity that gets to me. Every announcement adds another layer to the already complex system. If you are paying taxes you are earning income. The more taxes you pay, the more income you're earning so get over it.

The Gen Zers who aren't completely blindsided by taxes don't have time to answer surveys.

The right exemption is a form of redemption. Better a refund than a bill.

follow Dave's advice .. educate yourself about compounding interest and capital gains .. and you'll learn to love tax time

With the federal deficit at almost $33 trillion every tax payer owes $250K. Now that is something to cry about the fact that previous generations & leadership have sold us out. They partied & stuck us with the bill. 👎👎

We just turned 70. My husband is still working and the Social Security that we are required to take now may push us into a higher tax bracket. Why work?

I'm not sure if it's the taxes specifically, it's more that with rising costs/stagnant wages it's difficult to live a decent life as a young worker in the US.

In their defense, taxes is an absolute pain in the 🍑. It’s very complex and complicated, they take way too much, no one ever teaching you in high school. I didn’t learn until I was 27. Taxes and financial literacy should be mandatory in school. GenZ don’t get enough credit. They know exactly what happening.

Rachel giggling softly in the background when Dave says “they absolutely suck” had me in stitches!

Personal story: I work for a preeminent location platform company. The tech industry is YOUNG, and I am 64. In 2016 when Donald Trump was elected, one of my colleagues actually came into work about 5 days later saying she "could not get out of bed" she was so distraught and devastated. I just shook my head. I HOPE that this generation is stronger than portrayed, but honestly? I've never seen a larger group of people who "need therapy". Being upset about money mismanagement and taxes is one thing. But LITERALLY crying and needing therapy about any of this? WOW.

Rachel talking about bulldozing parents like she hasnt been gifted the easiest life ever by her dad

Gen z here! I pay 33% of my income in taxes. I have cried over how much I pay in taxes. My parents are married and pay much less in taxes. I earn well and live paycheck to paycheck so I cried because I feel like I’m fighting to survive and then they tax me 33% because I haven’t married, or started a family, or have property, or started a business. I think my generation just doesn’t have the same write off capabilities or deductions or extreme wealth that older people do. I think I pay more in taxes than my parents did when they were my age.

My goodness. It’s not about the taxes, per se. It’s about the complexity. My kids bring in all kinds of income from internet stuff, merch, online selling (like e-bay), independent project work, and then also W-2. They are terrified of messing up because of the recent threats by the IRS. My son is in his late 20s, and next year I’m getting an accountant. This is beyond my paygrade also. I suspect that most of the Gen Z people who are “crying” about Texas, are stuck in this complexity boat too.

It was soooo bad this year! We made $10000 more and paid $6000 more! And yes- we are voting!!!

no one ever messes with Gen X lol

I agree with Dave, i just don't think there are that many people weeping over taxes

😂😂lol bit exaggerated, of course. I don't really know any Gen Z crying over taxes. Don't forget, as helpful as Dave is, this is still an entertainment show.

Dave’s right. This Gen Z just sent 4K to the Ukraine, angers me every year but, it’s life🤷🏻‍♂️

I'm so happy when get a return instead of paying at the end of the year. I thank God for the chunk of money we get.

The last few years, I've been gifting graduates the book "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris

As a Gen Z myself, most of us aren’t the private school, party people who graduated with a 2.1 GPA in a useless major, took the first job that would take them in, just to finally realize what life is like off of daddy’s money and cry about it… some of us know what it’s like to clean bathrooms for $12/hour during university

Japan and The Netherlands have figured it out: the government should do your taxes for you. Citizens just confirm or amend the numbers.

Voting have nothing t do with anything. This is not about politics. Let's see the actual survey, and how the questions were asked. Without the actual questions and how they were asked. I really don't believe it. That also includes Dave's millionaire survey.

I get paid in cash. Whats taxes?

Some taxes are necessary. If you think taxes are too low, feel free to voluntarily send in more of your money to the government. However, please don't punish the rest of us by making us work longer every year for the governemnt (an income tax directly correlates to how many months a year i work to pay the government before the governemt. Allows me to pay the rent and buy groceries)and leave us out of your social engineering agenda.