A woman taking care of a child whose father is in jail finds herself in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over a tax deduction for dependents, which would save her money and allow her to better care for the child. The child's mother is not in the picture, but the woman performs all the duties of a parent. Because she makes less than $30,000, she can't afford legal representation in order to fight for her deduction.

It's clients like these that the Law School hopes to help with the low-income taxpayer clinic it opened in January.

April 15 is the deadline to file for federal taxes, and many find themselves unsure of how to tackle it or in need of legal assistance, which can be expensive.

The clinic is designed to offer local, low-income clients legal representation for tax controversy cases. Tax-licensed attorney and Adjunct Law Prof. Nicole Appleberry supervises the six law students who run the clinic, which is funded by an IRS grant and the Law School.

The clinic is seeking volunteers from all parts of the University to translate for Spanish-speaking clients.

In April, Appleberry hopes to respond to an influx of Spanish-speaking clients by opening a second clinic in Ypsilanti aimed at the Spanish-speaking community.

The law students go over tax documents and explain tax law to the clients. The students then contact the IRS and try to resolve issues through informal negotiation. If that fails, they pursue litigation.

So far the clinic - open only by appointment - hasn't had to go to court.

Appleberry said the clinic offers law students hands-on experience.

"It's a neat hybrid between a classroom and a law office," Appleberry said.

In order to qualify for the clinic's assistance, a client must earn less than 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines - or a maximum yearly income of about $25,000 for one person - and have a tax controversy case.

These cases could include audits, disputes over the amount owed or an inability to pay.

Appleberry said that finding legal representation can be a major problem for low-income citizens.

"This is true for general practice, as well as specialty practice areas," she said. "Tax controversy is certainly an area where there is a need for representation."

Third-year law student Paul DePasquale, who volunteers for the clinic, agrees it is needed.

"A lot of people don't understand their tax obligation and responsibility, and the letters from the IRS can be scary, so people put them off, hoping the problem will go away," he said.

None of the clients in the clinic's six open cases are University students, although Appleberry said students are likely to qualify on the basis of income.

But students are not necessarily the target audience, second-year law student Nosson Stoll said.

"Students typically do not have a tax issue that arises from an unexpected hardship such as sudden unemployment or health problems," he said in an e-mail interview.

However, Mark Bailey, a second-year graduate student in the Ross School of Business, said the clinic was a great idea for students. Bailey said that because he uses the Earned Income Tax Credit - a refundable credit for low-income taxpayers - and has student loans, his tax return would be more complicated this year than in the past.

The Business School operates a branch of Volunteers for Income Tax Assistance, an IRS sponsored program that trains volunteers to prepare tax returns, in order to help students with their returns.

The branch meets with clients at the Ann Arbor Public Library on Fridays and Saturdays by appointment only and is already close to capacity for the rest of the tax season, site coordinator and Business School senior Michael Donovan said.

Like the Law School clinic, it seeks to make people aware of credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, that could help them save money.

Volunteers for VITA are primarily Business School students, but some come from LSA. The IRS and the Washtenaw County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition fund the branch.

Donovan said the more free information on tax matters made available to the public, the better.