Don’t evade this informative tax event
Taxes may not be due for another three months or so, but an opportunity to learn more about the tax process is right around the corner for MNSU students.
At 5 p.m. in Ostrander Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 19, the MNSU chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, a national honorary organization for accounting, finance, and information technology students, will be hosting a free event called Taxes 101. The event, which will run until 6:15, will feature speakers Akmal Abdulmumimov (president of the MNSU chapter of Beta Alpha Psi), Zain Ul Abedin (vice president of Community Engagement), as well as MNSU accounting professor Dr. Kristen Rosacker.
The first half of the event will be devoted to a presentation given by Beta Alpha Psi and the second half will consist of an open question and answer session. The event is aimed at providing “what [students] need to know and what [they] need to have in order to file taxes,” according to Abdulmumimov.
Student Events Team’s description of Taxes 101 on OrgSync notes that the event will include discussion of “education related tax deductions/credits, earned income tax credit, renter’s rebate, tax benefits for parents, options for students to get their taxes done for free, and many more [topics].”
A major theme will be how to make use of Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA), a free service that will be offering tax preparation assistance to MNSU students every Friday in Armstrong Hall room 320 beginning next month. Abdulmumimov explains that “it’s an IRS-certified program where students in the accounting department take a test to be certified and then [they] do tax returns for lower income [families].” The VITA page on the MNSU College of Business website notes that the service is available to any individual with an annual income under $35,000 and any family with an annual income of under $55,000. Appointments can be scheduled at www.collegeofbusiness.fullslate.com.
Ul Abedin notes that one common mistake students make is “that they don’t know that someone else is claiming them as their dependent. When they have their tax returns prepared, this can be a problem for the IRS and for them as well. Their tax returns can be rejected for that.”
The tax process for both domestic and international students will be addressed in the speakers’ presentation.
Abdulmumimov adds that the implications of new federal tax laws, which will delay some tax returns, will be also discussed.
This is the second year that the event is being held.