It’s that time again, and whether you’re anticipating splurging in the local malls or organizing a getaway vacation, many college students already have plans for their expected tax refunds.
Senior Dameka Harrington, a political science and sociology major, plans to use her tax dollars to cover the cost of law school applications. Senior Ashley Casey, also a psychology major, expects to do the same.
“Law School is very important to me, and I don’t plan to waste my tax dollars by splurging,” Casey said.
Carlton Nettles, a senior, intends to travel: “I’m torn between two destinations, New York and Orlando, but the tax dollars will really help with the expenses,” Nettles said. Still other students, such senior Kenyatta Lanier, plan to save whatever refund amount they get back.
Before planning how to spend refund money, however, students will need help filing taxes. For the past 14 years, WSSU has assisted students with their tax preparation, by holding seminars. One was held in late January, according to Arthur Hardin, Coordinator of Community Service.
However, if you missed the date, don’t worry. Here are a few key Web sites to smooth the way to a mildly painless do-it-yourself return. Of note, too, are the various sources for tax planning, because – believe it or not – this will happen again next year.
REFERENCE DRUDGE
This site is invaluable for doing online research of all sorts. The tax-preparation page carries links and brief descriptions of Web sites for tax planning as well as tax preparation. www.refdesk.com/taxhelp.html
GENERAL INFO
The IRS page with general information about filing an individual tax return is at this address. It includes sections on the tax incentives for higher education, warnings against tax-avoidance scams, and a locator for the nearest Tax Assistance Center for face-to-face help. www.irs.gov/individuals
FED FORMS
Printable IRS tax forms can be accessed from a number of places on the Web. We like the lineup as Yahoo presents it. http://taxes.yahoo.com/fedforms.html .The IRS page for finding the myriad of tax publications and instructions, and for ordering forms for delivery by conventional mail, is here: www.irs.gov/formspubs
FREE FILING
If you want to file a federal tax return online free, you have to connect to the participating companies via the IRS Web site. Why? We don’t know. But here is the IRS page listing and linking the companies. www.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp
KRT Wire service contributed to this story.