April is a daunting time for any student: final papers, studying for exams, registering for summer courses, and looking for seasonal work. All of this stress can force students to ignore tax season and its deadlines altogether.

“I think the biggest issue that we run into is that not only do [students] not do it early, they have someone do it for them, so they’re not really involved in their own tax situation,” says Cleo Hamel, national spokesperson at H&R Block Canada. “Once they graduate and take on that task on their own, some of them find they have no idea what’s going on. I think for a lot of people, understanding your tax situation is just a part of your financial literacy.”

And she’s right. Students and young people have a tendency to pass taxes off to their parents or to treat them as unimportant. Tax season is an opportunity for students to learn more about their own financial situation, including money earned and where it was spent.

“It’s an opportunity for the student to get a really good sense of what the year was like, financially,” says Hamel. “Students who work in the hospitality industry, for instance, might turn around and think ‘I work but I feel like I’m not making a lot of money.’ When they do their taxes at the end of the year or are involved with that, they get a better sense of where they’re at.”

Preparing for and understanding tax season can be daunting, especially for a student that hasn’t attempted doing taxes before.

“The best way a student can prepare for tax season is to keep his or her tax return in mind throughout the year,” says Andrew Schrage, co-owner of Money Crashers, a personal finance site educating its readers about way to save and spend money effectively. “For instance, any receipts or billing statements that may qualify for a tax break, such as charitable contributions or registration renewal fees for automobiles, should be kept in their own file.”

Keeping a simple file with receipts for things like transit passes and tuition will come in handy. By staying organized throughout the year, students can preemptively remove a lot of tax season stress. “That way, the tax filing process is more streamlined and efficient,” he says.

It’s good to know where you can find tax breaks as well. “The newest credit that was added on a few years ago was textbooks,” says Hamel. Because textbooks are quickly becoming a student’s largest expense, it’s good to know you can claim a certain amount of that cost. “If you’re a full-time student, you get $65 per month. If you’re a part-time student, it’s $20 per month.” And you don’t need any receipts, she says. “You don’t even have to buy any books. You automatically qualify for that.”

Although you can do your taxes many ways on your own—old-fashioned paper returns, online filing, using programs like UFile—you may also want to reach out to professionals for guidance, especially if this is your first tax return.

“Seeking out the advice or assistance from a third party is definitely available to you,” says Hamel, which includes accountants, tax professionals, and even the accounting department at most universities for some extra guidance. But she stresses that you need to understand what these experts are doing. “You can’t just walk in and say ‘here’s my stuff. Do my tax return.’ You need to be asking questions, ensuring that at the end of the process, you understand how much money you made in the year, how your tax liability was calculated.” Understanding this process will allow you to do your taxes quicker and with less cost each year.

The predominant motivator for any student to do his or her taxes is that the majority of students get tax refunds due to low incomes and high claims like tuition.

“If a student is in a situation where he or she will be getting a refund—fairly typical for students—it makes sense to do taxes early,” says Schrage. “That way, the funds can be used or put into savings sooner rather than later.”