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Trust and familiarity are recognized as big issues for Latino
families when it comes to financial-related companies—even a
fee-for-service tax preparation agency.
“I’m familiar with the community. I’ve had a long-term
relationship with volunteering for several agencies in the
community,” Ms. Hernández explained. “I just really wanted to
provide the service to the Hispanic community because I know
some of the time they’re not quite sure what businesses to feel
comfortable with. If they go to a business they can identify
with and that they’re comfortable with, then they’re more open
and free to go into that business.”
Ms. Hernández expects to cater especially to the area’s
population of undocumented immigrants—which she called an
underserved community. Her bilingual skills and cultural
competence is hoped to offset an inherent fear of anything
related to the federal government—especially the IRS and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“It’s another reason I wanted to do this, because I wanted to
assure them that we know they’re contributing to our society,”
she said. “We know that there’s a fear out there, but as long as
they can feel comfortable coming to us and knowing we’re going
to provide the best service possible to them, it’s just
rewarding within itself to be able to do something like that.”
Ms. Hernández is urging Latino families to file their federal
income taxes as soon as practical, in order to obtain their
refund more quickly, especially if they do qualify for the
earned income tax credit (EITC). The longer a family waits to
file a tax return, the longer it takes to process such a
refund—even if they file electronically. Since the Old South End
contains two of the most poverty-stricken zip codes in Toledo,
many families will rely on that tax refund to make needed
big-ticket purchases they normally cannot afford.
“Certainly they want to be able to get their refund and get the
maximum that they can get,” she said. “If it’s crunch time,
there’s going to be a longer time sitting down waiting for the
process to get done, so the earlier, the better.”
It is especially important for families with a high school
senior who may want to attend college to file their tax returns
as soon as possible. Even with electronic filing, there is a
two-to-three-week turnaround period before their tax information
filters into the FAFSA online database for purposes of filing
for financial aid. The deadline for most colleges and
universities to file a FAFSA falls in February. Many parents of
first-generation college students are unaware of such deadlines.
“We do encourage those families to file as soon as they can,
just from the mere fact that they need to get that taken care
of,” said Ms. Hernández. “They want to be sure to catch that
deadline, so they want to be sure and look at FAFSA and make
sure they get that deadline met.”
Many immigrant families may only speak Spanish, so Ms. Hernández
believes her bilingual skills may put many of them at ease as
well.
“We’re living in a diverse society now and there are so many
different languages that are spoken in our world today,” she
said. “It’s imperative people are able to communicate with each
other and it’s important they understand what services we’re
providing for them, as well as the rules and regulations because
they change slightly over the years.”
2012 also represents the final year families can claim the
American Opportunity Tax Credit of
up to $2,500 of the cost of tuition, fees and course materials
paid during the taxable year. This tax credit includes expenses
for course-related books, supplies and equipment that are not
necessarily paid to an educational institution.
However, families should compare the tax credit to the tuition
and fees tax deduction, which allows up to a $4,000 deduction
for qualified tuition and fees paid. According to the IRS
website, only one of the education-related credits or deductions
may be claimed on federal income tax returns for an individual
student.
Tessera Associates is a full-service accounting firm with its home office based in
Temperance, Michigan, but offices also on Sylvania Avenue in
West Toledo. Tessera provides financial and tax services to more
than 100 small and medium-sized businesses in the Toledo metro
area, including non-profit groups. Tessera is in the process of
joining the Northwest Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NHOCC).
Appointments for the SQACC-based tax filing services can be made
by calling 419.407.4142.
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