This is the first year communication senior Kristi Buckham has filed her taxes on her own.
As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, local tax preparers are getting the word out about the number of resources available to filers, including local tax-preparation services, resources and Web sites devoted to do-it-yourself filing.
And, like Buckham, many college students will file as independents for the first time.
Buckham said she used an online tax preparation site because it was simple to use and inexpensive. But Buckham said she was a little worried she didn't get everything right.
"I'll be honest, it brings a little anxiety," Buckham said. "I'm putting blind faith into this site."
There are at least 50 tax preparation businesses in East Lansing.
Last weekend, two Liberty Tax Service locations in Lansing held outdoor parties for tax preparation to attract new customers and show a new side to meeting the deadline.
They offered free food, music and had several costumed Lady Liberties and Uncle Sams waving to drivers from the roadside.
"We're trying to make tax preparation more fun, rather than the, 'Oh gosh, it's tax season, I don't want to do this,'" said Joe Cox, co-owner of several Lansing area Liberty Tax Service locations.
On April 14, the Lansing location at 3525 S. Martin Luther King Blvd. will be open 24 hours in a "slumber party" for last-minute filers, Cox said. College students also are offered a discount at the service's Meridian Mall location, Cox said.
There also are resources closer to campus.
Finance senior Vinayak Viswanathan said he went to a tax preparation workshop at Student Services to fill out his taxes. He said he was confident everything was accurate - especially since there are different tax exemptions he has as an international student.
The MSU College of Law offers a tax clinic for people who speak English as a second language and for low-income tax payers who meet federal low-income guidelines, said Ed Furstenau, a College of Law tax clinician.
Law college students prepare the taxes and can find the latest tax treaties between certain countries for international students, Furstenau said.
At the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, there are links to tax forms, including obscure forms and forms for people from other states, said Angela Semifero, a reference librarian.
Tax guides and do-it-yourself booklets are available, and the library can provide a local list of places that prepare taxes, Semifero said.
But no matter where a person does their preparation, it is important that a tax professional checks the calculations to make sure everything is correct, Cox said.
For Buckham, the hardest part was putting all the right paperwork together and trying to understand it.
"You've gotta read the small print to see what applies to you," she said.
