THOMAS COUNTY, GA — Thomas University students are providing free tax preparation services to eligible South Georgia residents through an IRS partnership, helping families keep more of their refunds while gaining hands-on experience.
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Filing your return can cost anywhere from $150 to $400 unless you know where to go for free help.
At Thomas University, students are helping South Georgia families file their taxes at no cost through the VITA program.
"So this is the VITA tax site, and it's a program that's sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service to help taxpayers making $69,000 or less with their taxes," Bonnie Berggren said.
Berggren is an adjunct professor at Thomas University who oversees the program.
The way this works is the IRS partners with the university and trains students through the VITA program. They go through certification, learn the tax laws, and then sit down with real people to prepare their returns under supervision.
Michael Surane has only been at the university for about a month and a half, but he tells me this will definitely open doors for him in the long run.
"I think it's great that we get to, you know, do people's taxes, like real people in the real world. It's a lot better than, like, doing online, like, classes and courses and stuff because you actually get, like, first person, like, firsthand experience, so I just think it's great," Surane said.
But besides helping the students, this mainly helps neighbors on the receiving end — especially seniors and low-income families who may not be able to afford a tax professional.
"They feel more confident coming in and having somebody else do their taxes for them. It helps them. Some of them have a little bit of difficulty navigating technologies, some older people dealing with the computer software, and it's a little more complex today," Berggren said.
71-year-old Sarah Peterson is one of those people who says this makes a real difference for her.
"Yes, because we don't get very much money as it is. And then you got to pay for medicine now, and you got to pay for everything now. You just don't, seniors don't get a break. They really don't," Peterson said.
To get your taxes filed, make sure to bring your Social Security card, your W-2 forms, and a valid picture ID.
You can find this free service at the Forbes campus. It's only on Wednesdays from 12:00-5:00 p.m. through tax season, which ends April 15th.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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