It’s that time of year again, when many people would rather roll over and play dead than go through the hassle of filing taxes. Luckily, help will soon arrive for Cal Poly students and local low-income families in the form of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA).
The Orfalea College of Business is providing free tax preparation services by Cal Poly business seniors every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. through March 14 in the business building’s third floor computer lab. Anyone who makes less than $42,000 a year is welcome to use the service.
“It’s a good service, especially now when the economy is so down in the dumps,” said business senior Caitlin Dooley, one of the students involved. “Tax preparation can be pretty costly so it’s a big help to low-income people in the community.”
The annual program will expand this year due to a recent grant from Pacific Capital Bancorp. Last year, Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria collaborated with United Way to help families in Santa Barbara County prepare their taxes but because of the grant money, Cal Poly students will be able to help them out as well.
Each student will spend one Saturday completing tax returns in Santa Maria and the money from the grant will be used to help transport the students, Dooley said.
Around 85 students are involved in the I.R.S.-endorsed program that requires them to go through extensive training in tax preparation. Local Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) volunteer their time to review the tax forms after the students prepare them.
“We’re doing all the work, but the professionals will review it to make sure we didn’t mess up,” said business senior Anthony Fok.
Janice Carr, who co-coordinates the VITA program with Jack Robison, said the motivation for the project is more than just helping students fulfill their senior project requirement.
“It’s a really good way for students to work hands-on with clients,” Carr said. “They learn how to interview clients, work with sensitive financial issues,and how to work with partners.”
Students also learn to work in a supervised setting and acquire real life experience before they leave school, Carr said. As a community service, VITA is valuable because many people can’t afford to pay a CPA so they either file their taxes incorrectly or don’t file them at all.
Before participating, hopefuls must go through a screening process that to allow the business students determine if they can help the individual. Students will work in pairs to e-file the tax forms.
Participants do not need to know which form they need, but are asked to bring the following items: Social Security card or ITIN number, all 2008 tax-related documents and their 2007 tax returns if possible. Dooley said it’s imperative that families bring all information regarding their childcare service, including identification number and phone number, if applicable.
For additional information, call 756-2667 (English and Spanish).