Students: File your state taxes online for free

UW–Madison student employees have four ways to file Wisconsin Individual Income Tax returns electronically.

• There is a new service: an online, fill-in-the-blank personal income tax form that you can file with the click of a computer mouse. Because it is free of charge, it’s called Wisconsin Free-File.
• If you don’t qualify for free electronic filing you can still electronically file through a professional tax preparer.
• Taxpayers who have a personal computer and Internet access can electronically file with tax preparation software provided by third-party e-filing software vendors.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue is encouraging electronic tax filing for two reasons:

1. Filing your Individual Income Tax return electronically means better service. If you choose direct deposit, you will usually get your refund within five working days no matter when you file – even at the April 15 filing deadline. Traditional paper returns may take up to 12 weeks to process.
2. E-filing helps the State of Wisconsin stretch its limited resources in this tight budget because electronically filed returns require less handling than paper returns which also saves the taxpayers money.