Accounting students at the University of Guelph are stepping up to crunch the numbers once again with a free tax filing service.
And it isn’t just for students anymore.
The free income tax filing service runs 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both March 22 and March 29 at Macdonald Hall at 74 MacDonald St. on the U of G campus.
Both of those clinics, you will need to register ahead of time.
The clinic cannot do taxes for anyone who earned more than $34,000 in the year, or $40,000 combined for couples.
It’s due to a requirement in the community volunteer income tax program, administered by the Canada Revenue Agency.
There are also walk-in dates available for students March 24-28, but details on those clinics are in their early stages.
“We’re here for the community,” said Carter Sorensen, a fifth-year accounting student and organizer of this year’s clinic.
“It’s been great to help our student community, but we’re also from Guelph, we live in Guelph and we want to help out our residents here in the City of Guelph.”
About 40 volunteers will be available to do tax returns, ranging from first year students to soon-to-be graduating students like Sorensen.
This is up from the 25 volunteers at the clinic a year ago.
“We want to have a good balance,” he said. “The Lang Tax Clinic is just as much about giving to the community, the ability to have their taxes done, but it’s also about giving students an opportunity to learn.”
Sorensen or an accounting faculty member – including Sonia Dhaliwal and Sandra Scott – will be on site to review each return to ensure they’re done right.
Sorensen said the clinic volunteers could also deny doing someone’s taxes if it is too complex.
"We are really focusing on low income, or to people like students where they might have a part-time job or a job somewhere within the community and they don't have lots of investments, they're not making the big bucks," he said.
"We're just trying to reduce that barrier."
If you earned no income at all, Sorensen said it's still beneficial to file to access services such as ODSP, employment benefits and tax credits.
Once completed and verified, the return is filed electronically, though some such as first-time filers may experience a challenge.
“If that’s the case, we’ll provide you with a printed copy of your tax return and where to mail your tax return for you., though you’ll be responsible for mailing it,” he said.
If you prefer direct deposit to get your return, he said to bring a blank cheque or direct deposit information with you to the clinic.