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The Volunteer Income Tax Preparation program will now be offered annually at the GCSU campus. COURTESY OF UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL GEORGIA
Georgia College & State University’s (GCSU) Department of Accounting and Business Law is partnering with United Way of Central Georgia to provide free tax return preparation services through Feb. 28 in GCSU’s Atkinson Hall.
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) is being led by site coordinator Scott Burns, who is an accounting professor at GCSU. Five undergraduate and graduate accounting students went through IRS tax training and took three exams to receive IRS certification to conduct the program. Burns also underwent additional training for accreditation as the coordinator.
“All of our students and myself were accredited by the IRS through a formal program that included training and exams,” said Burns. “This initiative offers the broader community a valuable service while also providing students with real-world experience.”
The program is oriented to those with low income, no experience with tax programs, and questions about filing. However, the program is open to all qualified taxpayers in the Milledgeville area, which is generally taxpayers with taxable income lower than $65,000, and college students, such as those at GCSU, Georgia Military College, and Central Georgia Technical College.
By making an appointment, taxpayers will meet with one of the staff members and bring all documents needed for their tax return. The students are trained and certified to prepare, review, and file the tax returns in one visit. In addition, they are trained to peer review each other’s work. As site coordinator, Burns is ultimately responsible for a final quality review and filing the tax returns for the IRS.
“The students interact with the taxpayer directly. The students get a great feeling by contributing to society and the community. They also see that immediate response from the taxpayer, which is something you don’t always receive from volunteer activities. They have truly enjoyed it,” said Burns. “This program makes our students not only more valuable future employees, but perhaps more importantly, more involved community members.”
According to Burns, the VITA program is being hosted on campus because there is not a site located close to the Milledgeville area near GCSU. Burns plans for the program to continue for years to come and assist the community each tax season.
“In our first week we have already had great success,” said Burns. “The students are already asking me if we can expand the period of the program, which we may consider. We already plan to expand the time frame next year.”
The GCSU students are volunteering their time to staff the program to gain experience and give back to the community. According to Burns, the students have already made comments on how good it feels to assist the public and their desire to grow the number of people able to take advantage of this service.
“The students are gaining certification and work experience that would be similar to what they would do if they worked for an accounting firm,” said Burns. “But the true value of the program to them is being able to give back.”
Burns described the process of preparing the program for launch as a challenge with multiple steps set forth by the formal program requirements laid out by the IRS. According to him, the process was made much easier by the assistance provided by Dean Stratton, Dr. Snyder, the United Way of Central Georgia, and other contributors.
“There are many potential tax benefits that people don’t know about or may not know how to file their tax returns to meet the qualifications,” said Burns. “One example is the earned income tax credit for lower-earning taxpayers. For taxpayers who qualify, this tax credit could be of significant benefit. Educating taxpayers on all tax benefits available to them, like that one, is one of the many value-added aspects of this service.”
The volunteer tax preparation services are offered through Feb. 28 from 5-7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in Atkinson Hall, located on West Hancock Street, in room 110. To make an appointment, call 478-388-1956.