Tax season is right around the corner, which means professors, students and parents alike have all started getting emails from their accountants and W-2s in the mail.
Taxes can be jarring for the average student, but at Fresno State, there are resources that students can use to make the process easier.
“As a younger generation, we’re really prone to financial literacy, and it’s here for us,” said Esteban Lopez, president of Beta Alpha Psi at Fresno State. “All we have to do is simply seek out the resources and the guidance.”
Beta Alpha Psi is an international honor society for students who are studying accounting, finance and information technology.
Students from Beta Alpha Psi volunteer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program that provides free income tax preparation services for low-income taxpayers.
“There’s millions of American taxpayers who do their own taxes, but really, it’s going to be more for those who don’t understand,” Lopez said.
The program aids anybody who makes under $69,000 a year. On average, they help out roughly 700 people file their taxes per year.
“That’s a really good place for students to go if they don’t know,” said Tim Baker, an accounting professor and faculty adviser for Beta Alpha Psi at Fresno State. “Just take your stuff over there, and they’ll do it for you.”
The program is run by United Way, which is the non-profit organization that gets grants from the IRS to keep it going. Fresno State lets United Way use Room 133 of the Leon S. Peters Business Building as one of its locations.
“I didn’t know about that (VITA),” said Gustavo Vazquez, a student at Fresno State who is filing independently this year. “At the business, they charge $100 or something. So for free, yeah, it’s way better.”
They are open on Friday from 4-8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Anyone trying to make an appointment with VITA can call the phone number 211, where an appointment will be scheduled for them if requested.
Another resource for Fresno State students is a new program called Unlea$hed, which is a money management tool that gives videos and resources to learn about all finances, including taxes.
“It covers a wide range of stuff from banking, cars, getting a loan and stuff like that,” said Rowan Chng, the programs and operations research analyst at the University Business Center. “Your credit scores, credit cards. If you want to do real estate, there’s also some information about it. These are more facts that’s put together so that students don’t have to go search online.”
The program can be accessed through the Money Management Center page on Fresno State’s website.
Baker is also an accountant, and he gave some questions that all students need to ask before they file their taxes.
“First of all, are your parents claiming you as a dependent on their tax return?” Baker said. “Second question is, do I make enough income to have to file a return? With a standard deduction, basically every taxpayer is allowed to make a certain amount of income and not pay any tax.”
If a single person makes under $15,750 a year, they won’t have to pay taxes and that number doubles for married couples.
Most people who are working will get their W-2s in the mail or at their job. Students will also need a 1098-T form, which makes tuition paid eligible for a tax credit from the IRS.
Filing taxes is hard for a lot of people, especially students. However, one reason for this difficulty is that some simply don’t know how or where to learn.
“The more you know about taxes, the more you’re going to be prepared for business activity and life in general,” Baker said. “Taxes affect everything.”
