ABOUT THE PROGRAM
What is the Student S.T.A.R. Program?
The Student S.T.A.R. Program (Student Tax and Refund) is a low cost tax preparation assistance program for students and other low-income earners who need to file a tax return, request a refund of taxes paid or pay taxes due in the United States.
The program helps the qualified individuals to prepare their U.S. federal and state individual income tax returns without a preparation fee (Refund of taxes is not possible without properly filing a U.S. tax return).
Who qualifies for the Student S.T.A.R. Program?
Qualified individuals include students and other individuals:
1) with earned income of $16,000 or less during the year
2) with a maximum of four employers during the year
3) with no business income, business deductions and retirement plans.
If you do not qualify for a Student S.T.A.R. Program, click here for an alternative solution.
Why is the program's tax return preparation free?
The Student S.T.A.R. Program has been established with the most basic intention in mind: to help students and people with low income to file their tax returns at a minimum cost possible. This is achieved by minimizing the staff requirements and individual contact between qualified individuals and Student S.T.A.R. Program participating tax professionals.
How does the Student S.T.A.R. program work?
The program is administered through independent local agencies, which coordinate between the qualified individuals and the Student S.T.A.R. Program participating U.S. professional tax preparers. Once registered for the program with a local agency, the local agency will collect from an individual all the documents necessary for preparation of U.S. federal and applicable state/local tax returns.
The documents are forwarded for processing through the Student S.T.A.R. Program to the participating experienced U.S. tax professionals who are willing to process a certain amount of tax returns for qualified low-income individuals without a preparation charge.
The agency will contact the qualified individual in order to sign the proper tax forms and to mail the tax returns to the proper federal, state/ local tax authorities.
How much tax will I get back and when?
The standard due date for filing the U.S. tax return is April 15 after the end of the tax year (a tax year ends on December 31). In most cases, when qualified individuals send completed tax returns with a request for refund to the proper U.S. tax authorities, refund checks for the income taxes overpaid are issued by the federal, state and/or local tax authorities within 6-12 weeks from the date of filing the tax return. The amount of refund depends on how much you earned and how much tax was withheld from your paychecks during the year by an employer. Refund checks are issued in the name of individual whom the tax return was prepared for (not the Student S.T.A.R. Program or local agency).
* To estimate
the amount of your tax refund:
Email the scanned/photographed copies of your W-2 forms
(or your last pay stubs) and any additional tax documentation received along
with your registration (or the registration code if you are
already registered).
Administration Fees
Local agencies may charge a maximum administration fee of $50 to coordinate the processing of your tax information and delivering the completed tax returns to you (this is not a fee for preparing your tax returns).
If an individual doesn't qualify for a refund or owes additional taxes, the administration fee may be reduced or waived.
If you make a group registration, administration
fees may be lower for each individual in the group, as well.
(by 10% - if 2 individuals registered)
(by 20% - if 3 or more individuals registered)
(by 30% - if 5 or more individuals registered)
How much do normally professional tax return preparation services cost?
Professional tax preparation fees may vary based on the complexity of the person's individual situation. The fees may range from $100 (for simpler returns) to $500 or more (for more complex returns). If you do not qualify for a free preparation through the Student S.T.A.R. Program, email or call your local agency to help you directly contact a participating tax professional that will consult your tax situation and estimate the actual cost of service.
What should I do at the end of the year?
Register as early as possible to get a priority placement. When you later decide for a tax return preparation through the Student S.T.A.R. Program, your priority in the program will be reflected as of the day of the original registration.
Make sure that all the employers you worked
for during the year have your current address at which you can receive a mail
correspondence. All employers are required to mail you your annual earnings
statement (form W-2) in the month following the end of the
tax year. Therefore, you should expect to receive a correspondence from your
employer(s) in January or February.
TIP: Ask your employer to email (or fax) you a copy
of your W-2 form.
If you live outside the USA, and if you register early (before the end of the year) the Student S.T.A.R. Program may arrange to receive your correspondence from employers at a U.S. address to assure simplicity, reliability and speed - contact your local agency.
How can I register for the Student S.T.A.R. Program?
The purpose of registration is to reserve yourself a priority placement in the system, as the amount of free tax returns that can be processed through the Student S.T.A.R. Program is limited. The sooner you register, the sooner you will have your tax return prepared and your taxes refunded, if overpaid. You will receive an up-to-date information on the relevant tax deadlines, changes and updates.
You can register before you have all the documents ready. This way you can secure a priority placement in the system even though you gather all the necessary documents later (You can register others as well). After the registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a date of registration and a registration code.
1) Register by email at your local agency
(the list of local agencies is displayed below).2) in the subject of the email write:
"USA Taxes 2010" (for tax preparation assistance for 2010 year)
"USA Taxes 2009" (for tax preparation assistance for 2009 year)
"USA Taxes 2008" (for tax preparation assistance for 2008 year) "USA Taxes 2007" (for tax preparation assistance for 2007 year)
"USA Taxes 2006" (for tax preparation assistance for 2006 year)
3) in the body of the email write your:
- name, telephone, email, country/state of residence (for each person -in case of group registration)
- group ID (if applicable) ** In case of group registration, you can register others during your registration or let others know to enter your last name as a "group ID" when registering. Each registered person receives a separate confirmation email.
If you have any questions, please contact the local agency, which will provide the necessary help.
What information and documents do I need to provide?
For a tax return preparation through the Student S.T.A.R. Program you will need to provide:
* Last pay stub(s) - only if you requested but can not get a form W-2 from your employer (what is a pay stub?)
Additional documents and information may be requested if necessary.
Submit the above information and documents (scanned or photographed) via email to your local agency along with your registration (or the registration code if you are already registered).
DEFINITIONS:
Tax year
The 12 month period for which you are filing your tax return. The tax year is the same as calendar year (January 1 - December 31).
Tax return
Tax returns are reports filed with the U.S. federal tax collection agency (IRS) and with the state or local tax collection agency. They contain information used to calculate income tax or other taxes. They also include financial information used to compute any refunds of tax, if applicable.Tax returns are generally prepared using forms prescribed by the IRS or other state and local taxing authority.
Tax refund
A person will get a tax refund (a refund on their U.S. income tax), if the
tax calculated on a tax return that is properly completed and filed with a
federal, state or local tax collection agency, is less than the total amount
of tax that an employer took out of employee's paychecks during the year.
The difference is refunded in the form of refund check.
Refund check
A check from federal, state or local tax authority directing any bank (in any country) to pay money back to a person who overpaid his/her tax during the year.
Form W-2
A form that an employer must send to an employee and IRS (U.S. federal tax authority) after the end of the tax year. The W-2 form reports an employee's annual wages and the amount of taxes withheld from his or her paycheck.
Pay stub
A slip of paper included with your paycheck that shows how much money you have earned and how much tax or insurance etc. has been taken out currently (for 1 or 2 week period) and for the year to date. The last pay stub in any tax year would include the information about the total earnings for the year.
Form DS-2019
A form issued to certain categories of students/scholars/lecturers on J-1 Exchange Visitor Program.
In USA
Agency contact:
Bofina
8225 Fifth Avenue, #427
Brooklyn, NY 11209
Tel: (718) 748-5220
Fax: (718) 233-9667
Email: star@bofina.com
(Preferred initial contact: email or phone appointment)
___________________________________________________
Student S.T.A.R. Program
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
GETTING READY
CONTACT TO LOCAL AGENCIES
keywords:
us tax return for international students
student tax return
student tax refund
international student tax return and refund
usa tax return for foreign students
student tax return and refund
tax refunds for students
tax returns for sudents
Get an
Estimate of Your
Tax Refund or Liability
Taxes, which
employers may withhold
from paychecks:
Fast, Accurate, Reliable and Inexpensive U.S. Tax Return
Preparation Assistance for Students Internationally!Low cost tax help for students and low-income earners in the USA, including international students and scholars on U.S. exchange visitor programs and temporary emloyment in the USA (Work & Travel, J-1, F-1, M, H1B...)
If you worked in the USA you may qualify for a refund of taxes that your employer took out of your paychecks.Register Now! And receive a priority placement in the Student S.T.A.R. Program and an up-to-date information for 2011.