Open again for appointments is TerpTax, the free tax return preparation service for University of Maryland students and low-to mid-income individuals in the surrounding communities.
The service is housed in the Robert H. Smith School of Business as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) chapter—created and endorsed by the IRS. It especially benefits graduate and international students, along with qualifying nonstudents for whom the cost of tax return preparation might otherwise be an economic burden.
Operating since 2015 under the direction of Smith Accounting Lecturer Samuel Handwerger, TerpTax covers federal and any state returns and significantly addresses IRS requirements of international students. “All international students have a filing requirement regardless of U.S. income amount, or even if none. International returns with treaty benefits are our specialty,” says Handwerger, a CPA with a master’s in taxation and available to TerpTax clients for filing-related consultation free of charge.
The TerpTax website provides in-person and asynchronous appointments. New this year is a self-preparation option with unlimited free assistance by request, Handwerger says. “And you do not have to be a student at UMD, as we can handle alumni returns up to about $65,000 in income.”
All work is given a quality review, he says, and adds: “TerpTax is a realistic work experience as the program operates just like a CPA firm’s tax department. Student volunteers take on various roles such as tax preparer and quality tax reviewer. We have 40-plus business students gaining valuable experience. It is a win-win situation. You give TerpTax volunteers experience, and you get a tax return for free.”
TerpTax is scheduling appointments up to the April 15, 2024, filing deadline. “And we will have volunteers standing by until April 30 to complete returns put on extension,” Handwerger says. “We can do amended returns going back to 2018.”
For appointments and more information, go to the TerpTax website.
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About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in business education and cutting-edge research. The school’s world-class faculty facilitate experiential learning opportunities rooted in the real world. Smith students learn to think like entrepreneurs, prepared to drive positive impact. The school offers undergraduate, online and on-campus business master's, full-time, part-time, online and executive MBA, plus PhD and DBA degree programs, and non-degree and executive education programs. Where Smith leads, the future follows.