Douglas College offering assistance for students struggling with tax time

Get your papers in order at the DCBA Tax Clinic

By Chandler Walter, Editor-in-Chief

What perfect timing.

It’s almost comical to think that students struggling through final essays, exams, and projects in the waning weeks of the semester would have yet another load of worked heaped onto their plate, but that is exactly what happens every April as tax time comes around.

Luckily for Douglas College students, there is actually a clinic on campus offering assistance in just that—and you may even walk away with some extra end-of-semester-celebration cash.

The DCBA Tax Clinic, a free resource offered by Douglas College students for Douglas College students, will be running from March 5 to April 27, meaning that there is still a solid few weeks to get those finances in order.

Prospective attendees will need to head over to the DSU Room 100B at the college’s New Westminster Campus, and aim to get there between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

There are a few qualification conditions, of course (these are student volunteers we’re talking here, we can’t expect them to fix everything) though for single students making less than $30,000 or married students making a combined income of less than $40,000, you should be eligible for the free assistance.

To make things a little easier for everyone, the clinic asks that you arrive with all applicable tax forms, your last year’s notice of assessment, a piece of government-issued identification, and a USB stick. The clinic reserves the right to not file complicated returns (they’re doing it for free, after all), and will not be able to help out anyone that is self-employed, bankrupt, deceased (yes, it actually says that on the website), or have capital gains.

The clinic is operating on a drop-in basis, though it’s encouraged that students to arrive sooner rather than later—if we know anything about college students, it’s that they are expert procrastinators, and you won’t want to be a part of the crowd that shows up around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 27.

For anyone a little intimidated by uncertainty in their schedule, appointments are also available by emailing vp-accounting@dc-ba.com. Any questions or concerns can be fired off to that very same email address, though we suggest covering your bases by checking out www.dc-ba.com/taxes first.