By Emi Bendler
On average, people pay $273 to hire a tax preparer every year, according to the Certified Public Accountant Practice Adviser website. However, that could soon change for some locals through a tax-assistance program.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance is a program in which people with lower incomes can get their taxes filed for free. The program was started at California State University-Northridge.The University of Iowa VITA program was recently formed and is made up of accounting students along with students from the College of Law.
“We help a lot of people get some really valuable tax credits,” said UI VITA member Joe Henderson.
Henderson said VITA is an official Internal Revenue Services sanctioned organization. The IRS has approved many tax organizations, such as Tax Counseling for the Elderly.
“That’s what’s unique about VITA … it’s really for any member of the community who meets certain criteria,” Henderson said.
Henderson said VITA serves people whose annual income is $55,000 or less. However, he said, this can vary across universities.
Molly Petron, a graduate assistant at the Iowa State University VITA program, said that its cutoff is around $60,000. A representative from Cal State-Northridge said its cutoff is $54,000.
To become involved in VITA, UI and ISU students must take an accounting course. At the UI, this course is only offered during the fall.
The course is worth one credit hour; volunteering for VITA merits two credit hours.
However, this is not the case at Cal State-Northridge. While a course is offered, it is not required.
“Students can just volunteer,” said Gaby Flores, the operations supervisor of Cal State-Northridge’s VITA program.
All three representatives stressed the importance of getting involved in VITA.
“Soft skills improve tremendously throughout the course of the semester because students are working with real taxpayers and sitting down one-on-one with them,” Petron said.
For students seeking a career in the tax industry, VITA gives them experience in the field, she said. VITA is often put on students’ résumés as an unpaid internship or volunteer experience.
“For one, it’s a really great learning experience specifically for accountants in training,” Henderson said.
He also noted the importance of helping out the community and getting involved with others.
“I grew up in Iowa City,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life so, especially for me, it’s important to give back to the community that has had such a profound impact on my life. It just means a lot.”
At the UI and ISU, the number of people who can be involved in VITA depends on how many spots are available in the preparation course.
“Our class is in a computer lab with roughly 40 to 45 seats, so that is the limit to students who can participate,” Petron said.
The UI, however, seems to have a shortage of participants, Henderson said.
“I was at a site yesterday, and there were only four people there preparing, and there were about 30 people there waiting in line,” Henderson said.
He said the UI VITA program encourages people to get involved if they can.
“Aside from learning to do taxes, it teaches you to communicate with people,” he said.
Henderson said the big difference between working at VITA and working at a tax firm is that at VITA, the participants sit down face-to-face with their clients and get to know them.
“It’s a great experience,” Flores said. “A lot of people benefit from it.”
During the times VITA is held, people can have their taxes done for free if they have met the criteria.
Henderson said there are many reviews of the students’ work, so the people can be sure their taxes are accurate.
The UI VITA program is held Monday nights at one of the local schools, Wednesday nights at the Iowa City Public Library, and Sunday nights at the Iowa City Public Library and the local schools.
