With the April 15 federal and state tax deadline looming, University students and community members have several sources for free tax advice and assistance available to them. Business fraternity Beta Alpha Psi, the Eugene Public Library and the University Office of International Programs are all extending a helping hand to confused taxpayers.
The Beta Alpha Psi clinic is part of the Volunteer Internal Revenue Service Tax Assistance program and will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Chiles 288. The program, which offers comprehensive tax assistance free of charge, operates nationwide and has been at the University for four years. Tax professionals from the IRS and accounting firms Moss Adams, KPMG and Deloitte & Touche will assist the volunteers to ensure that everyone receives accurate tax advice.
“We offer full tax service, 1040 forms, everything,” VITA coordinator Daniel Bayley said. “We do both state and federal.”
Bayley, like most of the volunteers, is an accounting student who is donating his time to gain experience.
“As accounting students, it helps us a lot,” he said. “We like doing this stuff. It’s career driven, and it helps a lot with some of the classes we have to take.”
Beta Alpha Psi is a coed honors fraternity open to business, accounting and finance students who have excelled in their studies.
“It’s an honors fraternity, so they don’t just let everyone in,” Bayley said. “It’s more of a club than a
fraternity.”
The group will offer additional clinics April 5 and April 12, also in Chiles 288. Participants should bring all relevant financial documents.
In addition to the Beta Alpha Psi program, the Eugene Public Library is hosting a tax program every Saturday through April 15, reference librarian Ilana Ferris said. The program is sponsored by AARP and is designed for moderate- to low-income earners. Everyone is welcome to attend the drop-in sessions, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the library’s Singer Conference Room.
The University’s Office of International Programs is offering a similar program for the school’s international students.
“I think it’s intimidating to have to deal with taxes in a different country,” said Ginny Stark, director of International Student and Scholar Services. “Most other countries do taxes differently than we do. They just take money out of paychecks. Here, we do that, and we have to file a report.”
OIP has workshops and drop-in office hours to help international students navigate the often-confusing details of the U.S. tax system.
“With the workshops, we try to demonstrate how one would typically file non-resident forms,” Stark said. “Students can bring their W-2 forms and other financial documents and see how to complete them correctly.”
In most cases, international students file slightly different forms than residents. Stark said an international student filing a federal tax return would complete a 1040 NR EZ form rather than a 1040 EZ form, and an Oregon form 40 N rather than an Oregon form 40.
Most international students file taxes only in the United States. “Many countries have tax-exempt treaties with the United States that exempt low-level earners from domestic taxes,” Stark said. “Usually earnings are not so high that they have to pay elsewhere.”
OIP workshops for federal and state non-resident taxes are Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in 207 Chapman and April 6 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in 100 Willamette. Drop-in sessions for international students who have completed their tax forms or have minor questions are on April 8 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Metolius and Owyhee rooms of the EMU, April 11 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the EMU Rogue Room and April 14 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Metolius and Owyhee rooms of the EMU.