Illinois beats Iowa
5 ways to trim your tax-prep costs this year
INDIANAPOLIS » Illinois center Kofi Cockburn learned some hard lessons dueling with Luka Garza as a freshman.
On Saturday, he stood up to Iowa’s career scoring leader — and won.
Cockburn scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half, fought through foul trouble in the second half and challenged Garza physically while leading No. 3 Illinois past No. 5 Iowa 82-71 on Saturday. The victory sends the Illini to the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
“I thought Kofi was just great,” coach Brad Underwood said. “I thought the job he did in the first half, he was just dominant and not just because he had 18 points but because of his defense.”
Illinois (22-6) has won six straight, with three coming against top-10 foes. If Illinois wins one more, against No. 9 Ohio State on Sunday, it would claim its first tourney title since 2005.
But it was the matchup between Cockburn and Garza that was one of the prime reasons why Illinois’ boisterous fans made the short trek across the state line to Indianapolis. They made themselves at home, cheering loudly each time Cockburn made a play, while booing the foul calls against Illinois.
And Cockburn made sure Garza worked for everything he got. Garza finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa (217). The Big Ten Player of the Year went 8 for 21 from the field and dealt with his own foul trouble in the second half.
Cockburn, meanwhile, made 11 of 21 shots.
“It’s tough,” Garza said. “You know he’s a tremendous big man. We’re both being physical with each other. It’s just it’s what I’m going to have to deal with and I’ve been dealing with in the Big Ten for a while now.”
The difference was Cockburn’s supporting cast.
Ayo Dosunmu had 18 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Freshman guard Andre Curbelo added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
A 9-0 run midway through the first half gave Illinois a 22-14 lead that it never surrendered. The Illini led 45-37 at the break and then opened the second half on an 8-2 spurt that featured two big baskets from Jacob Grandison.
Iowa couldn’t get closer than five rest of the way.
Big picture
• Iowa: The Hawkeyes won’t go away quietly in the NCAA Tournament, as Illinois found out Saturday. The Hawkeyes will pose matchup problems for opponents who are unfamiliar with Garza’s size, versatility and supporting cast.
• Illinois: The Fighting Illini might be playing their best basketball this season at the perfect time. They’ve already tied a single-season school record with five top-10 wins, and the last three all came on the road or neutral courts. They could celebrate the school record by cutting down the nets Sunday.
people who don’t plan to itemize deductions and whose sources of income are mostly jobrelated As millions of Americans embark on the rather than from investments, businesses annual ritual of tax preparation this year, or other means. many will buy tax software or hire human • How to get it: Tax software providers’
tax preparers — and it probably won’t be websites.
cheap. Tax software can easily run $100 or
3.
more for many people, and human tax pros Ask for a discount
charge $203 on average to do a tax return, according to data from the National Association If you want to hire a human to prepare of Tax Professionals. your tax return, you don’t necessarily
But there are ways to cut the cost of tax have to pay the $203 average fee. Most tax preparation, or even get it for free. pros offer discounts. According to the NATP,
almost half of tax pros (46%) give breaks to
. See if you qualify for Free File
clients’ family members, 40% reduce prices According to NerdWallet’s 2021 tax for students and 29% shrink the bill for senior study, of $72,000 or less can get free tax citizens. Many tax pros also offer discounts software from Intuit, TaxAct, TaxSlayer to new clients, returning customers or people and other companies through the IRS Free such as veterans, police or clergy members, File program. according to the survey.
• How to get it: IRS.gov. • How to get it: Raise the topic with your tax preparer.
2 4
. Look for freebies on tax software websites . Find free tax clinics
in your community
Tax software companies typically charge for their software, but many also offer a free Federal grant programs fund free Volunteer version for people with simple tax returns. Income Tax Assistance clinics across the Each company’s definition of “simple” can country for people with disabilities, language vary, but in general, the free options are for barriers or incomes of $57,000 or less. There
1
are also free Tax Counseling for the Elderly clinics aimed at those aged 60 or older, as well as free help through the Department of Defense MilTax program for active-duty military and some veterans. These clinics operate through a variety of community organizations in all 50 states. (Due to COVID-19, some sites may be closed, and others may be drop-off or virtual only.)
How to get it: Search irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep or militaryonesource.mil for a local clinic.
5.
DIY some of the other stuff
You don’t have to pay someone to find out how much you owe the IRS or get copies of old tax records; you can request that information directly from the IRS online. You can also get a filing extension for free by filing the one-page IRS Form 4868 and getting it to the IRS by April 15. And if you can’t pay your tax bill in full by the April 15 deadline, you can apply for an installment payment plan or even apply for an offer in compromise to settle your tax debt.
• How to get it: IRS.gov.