Students help file taxes as big day approaches

by Renee Tomcanin staff writer

April 15 is right around around the corner, and for most people in the United States, it means one thing: taxes. With so many forms and deductions, it is hard to determine what needs to be filed and what is not as important.

Since the deadline falls on a Saturday this year, everyone who is filing taxes has until midnight on Monday, April 17 to get those I 040s in the mail. Some post offices are ready for the event and even provide those stressed out by taxes with coffee and doughnuts.

Ann Servey, of the business administration department, provided some tips and helped to clarify what tax forms need to be filed. Most people must or should file federal, state and possibly local taxes. State taxes must be filed if you have more than $35 of taxable income.

If you live and work in two different states, it is necessary to file state tax for both states. Pennsylvania has an agreement with several of the surrounding states, such as New Jersey and Maryland, that allows you to withhold the taxes from the state you live in. However,it is necessary to infonn your employer to do so. Servey highly suggests that college students get some kind of assistancewhen doing tax returns. This is important because there are special credits and deductions that are unique to college students. These include the HOPE credit and the student loan interest deduction.

"It is important to take advantage of these credits because it helps you avoid paying too many taxes, and no one wants to do that," Servey said.

Servey's tax class is also feeling the pressure of the tax season. The students are part of VITA, VolunteerIncome Tax Assistance program, and they have many tax returns other than their own to file by midnight on April 17.

The I.RS. created VITA as a free service that helps low-income, elderly,physically challenged and non-English speaking people file their taxes. It helps them find out about different credits that are available and reduce the amount of taxes that need to be paid or help them receive a larger refund.

Training for the VITA program is done in the classroom. Then those who are in need of assistancecontact VITA, and the students arrange to prepare their tax returns.