T.S Eliot wrote that April was the cruelest month, but it doesn’t have to be because of your taxes. If you waited until the last minute, don’t worry. When it comes to filing taxes, you have options beyond begging your parents to do the hard work for you.
One painless way to complete your tax prep is through http://www.hrblock.com/.
“I did my taxes about a month and a half ago online through H&R Block. It’s free for federal and cheap for state taxes,” said Joshua Emmanuel, an Eastern Michigan University student. “I just followed the instructions on the free federal edition. It asked some questions about my finances. All I needed were my 1098-T for from school and my W-2 from work. It was really easy.”
If you prefer the personal touch of a real accountant, you can visit a local tax service like Sun Tax Service. Sun Tax Service is located on 740 Emerick St. Suite 200 and is open all days of the week during tax season. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are recommended. To make an appointment or find out more information, call 734-483-5200.
If you get your taxes done by a professional, there are a few things you’ll need on hand.
“Come in with your id, your social security card and your 1098 T,” said Leah Laborn, staff member at Sun Tax Service. “If they don’t have it, they go in line and pull it up from the school and then they go from there. If you’re working, you can bring your W-2. If you’re not working, you can just bring the 1098 from the school to prove you’ve been a student for at least half the year. After this process, it’ll take eight to fifteen days for your files to go through.”
What’s the motivation behind filing your taxes? Students are reimbursed for the school related purchases with proof of expenses.
According to Laborn, “Students can make deductions for their supplies, books, laptops, fees, everything; whatever they buy for school.”
Just being refunded for school supplies might not seem worthwhile, especially if you’re unemployed or receive a limited income through work-study.
“Since I am a student and the only income I make is work study, filing is optional,” Emmanuel said. “If you make under a certain amount of money, filing is optional and most people who have work study only make about two thousand dollars.”
However, thanks to the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a credit that has been extended to December of 2012, students might be eligible to receive $1,000 to pay for college expenses.
“A lot of people who are students come in and file because they get a thousand dollar deduction for filing their taxes,” Laborn said. “The purpose of filling out taxes for student is to get their refund, just for attending school.”
Without realizing it, students can miss out on an opportunity to get money back for their educational spending, and all it takes is filling out a little bit of paperwork.
“It’s definitely a worthwhile process,” Laborn said.
