It is tax season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not\u00a0too many will call it their favorite time of the year, but at Cal State LA, at least,\u00a0help is\u00a0again\u00a0on the way via the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.<\/p>\n
VITA provides free tax-preparation services to\u00a0low- and moderate-income, disabled, and limited English-speaking taxpayers, including students and\u00a0members of the\u00a0surrounding\u00a0communities\u00a0served by\u00a0the university.\u00a0Cal\u00a0State LA students, most\u00a0with accounting and finance backgrounds,\u00a0volunteer to\u00a0prepare the returns following weeks of training and certification by the Internal Revenue Service\u00a0(IRS).<\/p>\n
Services will be provided at seven locations, including on\u00a0campus, every Saturday from\u00a0Feb. 7 to April 11.\u00a0Additionally, three pop-up events will be held this year. (See below for\u00a0the\u00a0VITA schedule and\u00a0locations.).<\/p>\n
The program is co-sponsored by the College of Business and\u00a0Economics\u2019\u00a0Department of Accounting, the IRS, and\u00a0the California Franchise Tax Board.<\/p>\n
VITA\u00a0has been in existence since the 1980s, but the past two years have been Cal State LA\u2019s most successful.\u00a0Last year\u2019s volunteers numbered 139, and they prepared\u00a02,132\u00a0tax returns for $3.1\u00a0million in refunds.\u00a0For the 2023 tax year, 81 volunteers completed\u00a02,307 returns for $3.5 million.<\/p>\n
This year,\u00a0about 230 students\u00a0have volunteered.<\/p>\n
The program\u2019s co-faculty advisors, Associate Professor John\u00a0Cooper\u00a0and Assistant Professor\u00a0Xiangge\u00a0(Angela) Wang from the Department of Accounting, spread the word about the program during their fall classes. They also asked\u00a0some VITA volunteers from last\u00a0tax season\u00a0to share their experiences\u00a0about\u00a0the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students telling each other about the program is the most effective way to recruit,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cThey really enjoy it. They have\u00a0a great time, they learn a lot, and it looks good on their\u00a0r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u00a0when\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0looking for jobs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
About 90 percent of clients are from the\u00a0community,\u00a0many of them\u00a0returning\u00a0on a yearly basis. Cooper would like to see more Cal State LA students take advantage of the free service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can do better this year,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0going to post\u00a0flyers\u00a0around campus and set up a table near the library. Hopefully, that helps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clients should\u00a0come prepared with\u00a0a picture ID, their\u00a0Social\u00a0Security\u00a0card\u00a0or\u00a0an individual tax identification number (ITIN), W-2s,\u00a01099s, tuition statements, and other tax documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n