Accounting senior Maria Goodfellow sat at a long table in the basement of Student Services and furrowed her brow, punching calculator keys to add a sum on Barbara Boillat's 1040 income tax form.
Boillat rocked her 5-year-old son, David, in her arms as she patiently awaited the results of her income calculations.
"I have absolutely no clue about taxes," the Haslett resident said. "I once paid H&R Block $80 to do my taxes ? here, it's really nice not having to do much."
Boillat is one of many taking advantage of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which offers free services assisting low-income individuals and many international students by filling out their federal income tax returns each spring.
The program, known as VITA, is administered by the Internal Revenue Service and also receives volunteer support from the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants.
About 1,500 people take advantage of VITA each year, accounting Professor Ed Outslay said. The ongoing program is geared toward assisting taxpayers confused about various circumstances regarding their returns, Outslay said.
"Some calculations get pretty complicated," he said.
For the last 24 years, Outslay has trained several hundred student volunteers in various sessions outlining all steps of federal, state and local tax return filing as well as possible situations taxpayers might face after receiving their W-2 forms and beginning to crunch numbers.
"We go through different scenarios they're going to have to know about," Outslay said. "We want to make sure students are aware of the things they're eligible for - to take full advantage of all benefits offered to them."
There are more than 280 volunteers involved with the program this year, said Andrea Sobanski, VITA president. Volunteers help clients walk through each step of the tax return process, and individual appointments can be as brief as 20 minutes.
"(Clients) are very appreciative of the service," the accounting senior said. "Most of them cannot afford to go to ? other places to have their taxes done.
"Without us, they would not have had any other means to do so. If they don't understand (taxes), this is an opportunity for them to have it done for free."
International students are aided the most by VITA, Outslay said, because of various challenges presented by dual tax systems or U.S. treaties with their home countries.
"Many have never filed a tax return before," he said, which adds to the stress and "shock" of completing the complex and involved process.
"We help with a wide range of problems," finance senior and site coordinator Zachary Reigle said. "I wanted to help people claim their refunds."
Other assistance for confused taxpayers also is available elsewhere on campus.
The MSU-DCL College of Law Tax Clinic, which opened in 2000, also provides services to local low-income taxpayers.
The tax clinic, which receives an annual grant from the IRS, also serves as a classroom of sorts as a group of law students assisting taxpayers sort out various issues and controversies with the IRS, said Allison Ernst, a licensed attorney in the clinic.
Clients are charged a nominal fee of $10 for counseling and tax-filing assistance, Ernst said. For preparing an entire return, clients are charged less than 1 percent of their gross income. About 500 taxpayers took advantage of the clinic in 2003, Ernst said.
"Our goal is to help educate as to the rights and responsibilities under federal and state tax codes," she said.
