Get your taxes done free by AU students, professors
Free public tax preparation services are offered by Aurora University business students and professors from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturdays, Feb. 27, March 6, 20, 27 and April 10 at Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place, Aurora.
The university's Dunham School of Business will offer its eighth annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, a partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, for people earning up to $50,000. Federal and state forms will be prepared and e-filed for free.
No reservations are accepted. A photo ID, Social Security number and tax forms are required. Spanish translation is available. For more information, call (630) 844-7805 for information.
For a second year, a health expo at the tax services will offer free blood pressure checks by AU student nurses and memory screenings by social work students. Aurora Township will offer information about its services.
A new feature will include 30-minute lectures by an AU professor and an AU student in room 120 in Dunham Hall. Vince Pellettiere, assistant professor of business, will discuss job-search strategies and Brandon Hose, a member of the Management Information Technology club, will report on 911 call centers.
The service is available to low-income, elderly, and disabled residents, including non-English speaking taxpayers. A photo identification card and Social Security identification card are required for taxpayers and dependents. Bilingual college students will provide translation assistance for Spanish-speaking taxpayers.
About 40 business students under the tutelage of three CPAs who are professors in AU's Dunham School of Business -Tim Moran, David Diehl and Len Scholl -will prepare state and federal tax returns.
Last year, about 40 AU students, faculty, staff members and former students prepared a record 1,050 tax forms, 0525 each federal and state forms free for the public.
AU tax preparers recovered $463,500 in refunds for taxpayers last season. The largest single refund, $11,120, went to an Aurora resident. Refunds included the new rebate recovery and first-time homebuyer credits.
Since AU introduced the VITA program in 2002, AU tax preparers have generated more than $2 million in refunds to area taxpayers.