Benefits Spotlight: Is the thought of filing taxes stressing you out? Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP) can help

Money is one of life’s top three stressors and tax season can amplify this stress.

Hannah’s challenge: Increased anxiety and stress levels during tax season

Hannah dreads tax season every year. It causes her anxiety and stress levels to increase. She faces typical issues that affect many people this time of year including:

• Fear of incorrect filing. Hannah worries about errors, omissions and incorrect deductions on her taxes and fears penalties or an audit. This causes her to procrastinate on doing her taxes which causes her even more stress.
• Lack of time. Hannah has a busy personal and work life and finds it difficult to find the time to sit down and do her taxes even though the deadlines for completing taxes are growing closer.
• Concern over what is owed. Hannah worries about what she may owe and how this will impact her in the future.
• Frustrations of filing. Hannah is using a manual filing method and is finding it difficult to gather all the necessary documents and forms to complete her taxes.
• Conflict. Hannah and her partner reviewed last year’s financial records together which has caused a conflict about how the couple spend money.

A solution: Seeking guidance from an advisor

Filing taxes can be an isolating and stressful experience. Don’t go through it alone. You can contact UBC’s EFAP provider Morneau Shepell, seek advice and have your questions about taxes answered. Access Online Financial Planning Service to set goals and take action through easy to use tools while evaluating your progress. Alternatively, seek a telephonic consultation for a one-time conversation or short-term support with a financial advisor. Make use of EFAP’s extensive article library to access tips on making the tax season less stressful, and tax planning and filing more streamlined.

If you find yourself facing challenges similar to Hannah’s, let your EFAP help you access expert, professional and confidential support, at no cost to you.

(Please note Shepell does not prepare tax returns. When required, they will facilitate referrals to licensed professionals for more extensive services such as financial planning or debt repayment planning.)