SHEBOYGAN Co. —The National Society of Accountants reports the average cost of filing a standard tax return is $176 this year. That is money some families simply cannot afford right now.
There is a free tax service being offered across our area. Elaine and Steven Boeldt were filing together with help at Lakeshore Technical College.
“As you get older sometimes you don’t understand quite the process as you had in the past and things have changed,” said 73-year-old Elaine.
The 10-week program at the technical college has allowed accounting students like freshman Nathan Buschmann to get hands-on experience preparing tax returns for families like the Boeldt’s.
“I felt confident with the tax part but doing the intakes and talking with people I’m a little nervous about,” said Buschmann.
Through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program or VITA, the Lakeshore Technical College students have completed more than 130 returns and more than $215,000 in refunds so far. All of it was free of charge for taxpayers.
Here is how to qualify for the VITA program:
- Combined household income of $57,000 or less.
- Senior Citizens and the disabled also qualify.
- Click here to find a full list of participating sites nearest to you.