Simplifying Financial Resource Applications for Low-Income College Students with Return-Free Filing

: The complexity of the American tax code disproportionately affects low-income college students who rely heavily on information from their tax returns for important financial resources (e.g. financial aid) but are unable to afford assistance from costly tax-filing services. As a result, low-income college students benefit from return-free filing services. This paper assesses the potential of using return-free tax filing as a resource to support low-income college students with identifying their eligibility and applying for financial resources such as financial aid and SNAP benefits. Using survey data from low-income students attending UCLA, we describe the difficulties faced in filing taxes and applying for financial resources. We find that students are interested in receiving assistance from return-free filing services for both processes. Then, we determine how interest varies by gender, racial identity, parental education, past filing experience, and primary language spoken at home.