Ah, spring.

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the children are skipping — and taxes are due.

Taxes are due to the IRS by April 15 for anyone who earned $7,950 or more in 2004.

Tax-payers have several options on how to get their taxes in on time.

Some can stop by the library to pick up a 1040EZ form and complete it themselves, but there is no guarantee the results will be accurate. A 1040EZ is a simplified form to help tax payers do their taxes themselves.

Or, tax-payers can skip the drive and fill out a form online at www.irs.gov/efile for free.

Kent and surrounding areas offer offices with professionals willing to prepare taxes error free but for a fee.

Jackson Hewitt in Cuyahoga Falls is offering an incentive for students.

Students who are not claiming their own exemptions and just want to get back what they paid into state and federal taxes pay $50, said Tanyka Santone, general manager.

For everyone else, Jackson Hewitt will charge as much as $400 for tax preparation, but Santone said the average charge is between $80 and $120.

Tax agency H&R Block, located in University Plaza on South Water Street may be closer to home but charges more on average.

Manager Mary Ellen Hinchman said the average charge is $140. That charge covers federal, state and local taxes.

She said the charge is worth it because the staff at H&R Block is well-educated, and tax payers’ tax information is kept on file for up to seven years.

Some students need help with taxes, but they don’t trust national tax preparation companies.

“I wouldn’t trust H&R Block, but I’d probably end up letting them do it before I’d trust myself to do it,” said Chris Fedak, freshman art education major.

Those aren’t the only two options.

Thomas Hager is a certified public accountant in Kent, and even though he said a CPA probably isn’t the most cost-efficient place for students to go, private practitioners are a good choice for students because they stay up to date on tax laws year round, and they charge less on average.

TDA Financial Services of Akron will prepare Federal, State and Local 1040EZ forms for about $20.

Also, Ace Tax Bookkeeping and Notary Service in Akron charges $45 for basic federal, state and city tax forms and $10 for each additional form.

Tax-payers can find more private tax preparation businesses at www.switchboard.com. Type in “legal and tax services.”

Contact finance reporter Katie Greenwald at [email protected].