Students Offer Free Tax Preparation for Area Residents

LWC Associate Professor of Accounting Rose Garvey, left, works with accounting
students Kelly Patterson of Windsor, Ky., center, and Megan Coe of Jamestown, Ky.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Lindsey Wilson College accounting students are offering a tax break for area residents this season: free income tax preparation.

Through a partnership with the AARP Foundation, Lindsey Wilson students -- under the supervision of an accounting professor -- are offering free tax preparation every Monday night through April 8 to area residents. The service is part of the AARP Tax-Aide Program.

AARP membership is not required to take advantage of the free service, and there are no age restrictions.

Area residents will be assisted by volunteer student counselors who have been trained by the Internal Revenue Service. After the tax preparation is complete, the counselors will file returns electronically, free of charge.

The free service is offered from 4-7:30 p.m. CT every Monday through April 8 on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointments are accepted.

"The program is designed to assist taxpayers by completing income tax forms and informing them of special tax benefits that may be available to them," said LWC Associate Professor of Accounting Rose Garvey. "The counselors are Lindsey Wilson accounting students, who are certified by the IRS to prepare basic, individual tax returns."

LWC has offered the service in the past, and Garvey said it's been very popular with area residents.

"Residents are often pleased to learn about benefits available to them," she said.

For example, Garvey noted that statistics show that 20-25 percent of working families who qualify for the Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit do not claim those benefits.

"Past experience has indicated that many older persons and low- to moderate-income persons are unaware of special benefits that they are entitled to claim," Garvey said. "Some may not be required to file because of limited income. On the other hand, some residents may need to file in order to take advantage of benefits available to them."

To take advantage of the free service, residents should bring a legal picture identification card; a Social Security card for the taxpayer and all dependents; copies of last year's federal and state tax returns; all relevant documentation of income and expenses of the current tax year, such as W-2 and 1099 forms. If spouses file jointly, they must attend the session together, and each spouse must have a legal photo ID card and Social Security card.

For more information about the free service, contact LWC VISTA Coordinator Candice Armstrong at armstrongc@lindsey.edu or (270) 384-7375.