UMaine Business Students Offering Tax Assistance through April 17
Contact: Steven Colburn, 581-1982; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — UMaine accounting students will be available on Mondaysthrough April 17 to provide free help with filing state and federalincome tax returns.
The Monday sessions from 12-2:30 p.m. in Room 113 in the Donald P. Corbett Business Building began Feb. 6.
Students in the UMaine Business School work with taxpayers on afirst-come, first-served based, and are overseen by associate professorSteven Colburn, who directs the UMaine Volunteer Income Tax AssistanceProgram (VITA).
Though designed for low- to moderate-incometaxpayers, people with disabilities, the elderly or students who needhelp, the service is available to anyone on campus or in surroundingcommunities with basic tax assistance needs.
Filers shouldbring W-2 forms from all employers, Forms 1099 (for dividends andinterest), if applicable, and any other forms or information regardingincome, deductions or credits. Volunteers can download tax forms fromthe IRS website, if needed.
All of the volunteershave taken tax preparation courses and are up to date on the latest taxlaw changes. Plus, Colburn double-checks each return before it leavesthe building. The program is a benefit for taxpayers in the communityand is good training for students, who enjoy the interaction withwalk-in clients, Colburn says.
Between 100 and 150 peoplefrom the Old Town-Orono communities, including students, usually comefor assistance each year, Colburn says.
“Mostly we havehelped students on campus, but we do help people from the community,”he says. “Some people have small businesses on the side, and I meanreally small businesses.”
The practice of accounting studentshelping the public with income tax forms is longstanding at UMaine, andgoes back as many as three decades.
This year’s tax returndeadline is midnight April 18, as opposed to midnight April 15, becausethe traditional deadline falls on a Saturday and Monday, April 17, isPatriot’s Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts, where the IRS has aprocessing facility for taxpayers living in Maine, Maryland,Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and the District ofColumbia.
More information is available by calling Colburn at 581-1982 or emailing steve.colburn@umit.maine.edu