Class for Many Happy Returns

* Tuition free tax course

Do you wish you understood the federal income tax system well enough to file your own return?

Are there a few deductions or credits that you find impossible to fathom?

Do you wonder whether you’ve gotten the biggest bang out of your deductible buck?

Or do you secretly wish you had the training and experience necessary to prepare tax returns for a living?

If you answered yes to one or more of those questions, Jackson Hewitt Tax Services has got a deal for you.

Starting next month, the nation’s second-biggest national tax preparation firm will launch its tuition-free tax school. Those who are interested--be they professional tax preparers, tax preparer wannabes or consumers who simply think they could benefit from instruction in federal and state tax laws--are invited to attend.

The 12-week course will cover the waterfront--everything from information about basic filing requirements to details on how to handle more arcane pension and IRA tax questions, says Steven Wion, a Jackson Hewitt district director in Maryland.

At the first meeting, instructors will give out a detailed curriculum, noting which topics will be covered at which sessions, Wion adds. That should allow those who are not interested in attending the entire course to show up for lessons that they find pertinent for their own returns. The sessions are held two nights a week, three hours per night.

Those who complete the whole course are likely to come out with enough knowledge to not only prepare their own returns, but also to prepare returns for others. (The course is not required of people who want to apply for tax preparation jobs at Jackson Hewitt, but the firm does accept applications from attendees who are interested in working during the busy season, Wion says.)

Still, the point is to save money by discovering deductions you might have missed or strategies you may not have been aware of, or by simply getting comfortable enough with the tax code to be able to file your return without the help of a professional preparer.

“People can save a fortune in tax preparation fees,” Wion says.

The course is free. However, students will have the option of buying books through Jackson Hewitt. If you buy the whole set--Jackson Hewitt tax manuals and the “Ernst & Young Tax Guide”--the cost will be $99, Wion says.

But buying the books is not required, he adds. You can do without completely, bring your own tax manual from home, buy an Ernst & Young guide at a bookstore or borrow one from a public library. (If you’d like to follow along with the E&Y; tax guide, but can’t find a copy this late in the year, call publisher John Wiley & Sons at [800] 225-5945 or check out their Web address at https://www.wiley.com. This guide retails for $14.95.)

In the Los Angeles area, the courses will be held in two locations:

* Inglewood: 1275 S. La Brea Ave., Suite 114. One session runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. The other runs on Mondays and Wednesdays at the same hours. To register or get more information, call (310) 677-9815.

* Torrance: 21215 W. Carson St., Suite A. Tuesday and Thursday nights only. To register, phone (310) 787-8186.

* Web education that’s mutual

Those who are looking for basic advice about mutual funds--as well as plenty of specific information about how individual funds have performed--may want to visit the Mutual Fund Education Alliance’s new Web site.

The site, at https://www.mfea.com, has more than 300 pages of educational material, as well as profiles of more than 1,000 funds. Investors will also be able to log onto a sorting feature that will let you examine “top” funds based on criteria you choose, such as lowest management fees or smallest minimum investment requirements. The site also has hot links to home pages of many of the fund companies listed.

Consumer Checklist is a weekly feature that covers a range of pocketbook issues of interest to Californians. To contribute information about new legislation, products, services or surveys, write to Kathy M. Kristof, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com