Don Jordan felt the sting of tuition last year, but didn’t bother to feel the pain again April 15.

He didn’t fill out his tax forms.

He said the forms were to confusing and he was too lazy.

“One thing that really gets me is there are so many forms,” he said. “It’s hard for me to figure out which one to fill out.”

But students can take advantage of the restructured laws for the 2002 tax season.

Sarah Wreford, a Michigan Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman, said there are some new and extended laws featured this year.

The employer-provided educational system was extended by Congress and President Bush. The system allows some companies to provide up to $5,250 per year for tax-free tuition for employees.

“I think everybody in Congress recognized the value of it,” Wreford said. “Someone in Congress will want to revisit it and see how did it go, how did it work. It’s been very positive for everybody.”

Wreford said many people, including college students, do not file their taxes by deadline because they don’t have the money they owe. There are penalties, such as the failure to file penalty, that result in not filing on time.

People with children should look at the Michigan Educational Trust, which allows parents to put tuition money away for children at current tuition rates, Wreford said. When the child goes to college, the parents pay the rate of when the child was enrolled in the trust.

Almost every public school, including MSU, participates in the program, Wreford said. She recommends students look at the IRS’ Web site for more information on the program, or consult a tax clinic.

The IRS supports the idea of tax clinics available to students, Wreford said. But she cautions that even if students do not fill out the forms, they need to know what they are signing, because they are responsible for what the IRS receives.

Michele Halloran, director of the MSU-DCL Tax Clinic, 541 E. Grand River Ave., said one problem students face is they don’t know that some of the laws can actually help them.

The Hope Scholarship is awarded to first-and-second-year college students whose parents do not claim them as a dependent. The amount of the award depends on tuition costs. Parents also can qualify for the credit. Graduate students, as well as some undergraduate students, are eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit, which has a maximum of $1,000. For both credits, students must be enrolled at least part-time.

Halloran said the clinic gives free help to students who speak English as a second language and students who didn’t file during the previous year.

“There are literally billions of dollars that go untapped because people don’t know about the earned income credit,” Halloran said. “There are some students who may qualify who don’t even know about it.”

For more information, see www.irs.gov.