Five Ways to Save on Your 2000 Taxes

1. Cut your federal income tax by the full amount of the HOPE Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit, for qualified costs of higher education.

2. Subtract the full amount of the Child Tax Credit right off your total tax bill, if you qualify.

3. Save for the future with a Roth IRA without paying tax on future gains or earnings by following certain guidelines.

4. Minimize the taxes required on certain IRA withdrawals for qualified costs of higher education or a first home.

5. And don’t forget the “same year” deductions that make traditional IRAs a popular choice.

IRS helps international students correctly file tax forms

By Jessica Cervantez
Staff Reporter

Internal Revenue Service took time out Monday night to help about 50 international students fill out their tax forms.

Because tax codes are different for international students, expertise from the IRS comes to TCU twice a year to explain and help students fill out their tax forms, said John Singleton, director of international services.

Singleton said most countries have international treaties with the U.S. government, but each country is different. Since there are 76 countries represented at TCU, filling out the forms gets complicated.

Photo by Tim Cox - Skiff Staff John Singleton, director of international services, explains to international students Monday night how to fill out their taxes. Tax codes are different for international students so twice a year members of the Internal Revenue Service come to campus to help with tax preparation.

First of all, international students are non-immigrants, because they only go to school in the United States and don’t permanently live here, so they are not required to pay certain taxes, Singleton said. The treaties tell them exactly what they have to pay, he said.

“As a result, the IRS provides services for international students,” Singleton said. “We just have to call (the IRS) and ask them to do it and they’ll come.”

Taxpayer Education Specialist Rick Griffith, from the IRS, said he travels to North Texas universities to help international students fill out their forms.

“There are very few, even in the IRS, that know the area well,” Griffith said. “The language of the form is foreign. Even most Americans can’t understand (the form).”

Singleton said even very few Certified Public Accountants really know the area.

“We’ve found out when we send students in the past to places, like H&R Block they don’t (fill out the forms) correctly, so it just creates a headache,” Singleton said. “This will take care of some of the problems all at once.”

Lauri Brooker, a freshman international politics major, said filling out tax forms in Australia is completely different compared to the United States.

“This way I know exactly what I’m supposed to fill out, and I can ask questions,” Brooker said.

Griffith said a major benefit of providing the service is so students can receive refunds and save money. Also, if international students want to live in the United States permanently, the Immigration Naturalization Service checks to make sure taxes have been compiled with tax laws, he said.

Singleton said it is difficult for international students to understand how to fill out tax forms, because wording and phrasing can be confusing.

“To international students, the entire description is foreign on how the form is set up,” Singleton said. “Linguistically, one word could mean one thing to (international students) and another when filling out the form, so some may not understand.”

Singleton said it is important to bring in an expert, because there is no way human resource employees would know every stipend for every country.

Jessica Cervantez
j.s.cervantez@student.tcu.edu