UCSD Student, Staff Volunteers
Provide Free Income Tax Services
to UCSD and San Diego Community
October 10, 2006
By Jan Jennings
It may be too early for you to think about income taxes and the ominous April 15 deadline to file forms – but it isn’t for a dedicated group of student and staff volunteers at the University of California, San Diego.
They are a tax team-in-training beginning this month.
This UCSD tax team is part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. Come tax time, its members provide free, confidential income tax return preparation for students, staff and members of the public who qualify for the service. The program is a collaboration between the Internal Revenue Service, California Franchise Tax Board, UCSD Student Legal Services and UCSD Student Educational Advancement.
The free tax services are administered by UCSD Student Legal Services, a program within Student Affairs.
As recent UCSD graduate Maggie Low says, “Working as a VITA volunteer was one of the best things I have ever done. Not only did the opportunity provide me with training in tax law, it also strengthened my leadership and organizational skills. It was a great resume builder. But more important, I got to be a part of a program that really helps people. Tax season is such a source of frustration that VITA provides a valuable service to the campus and the community. It was a very rewarding experience.”
To prep for their duties, this year’s team of 50 students and 10 staff VITA volunteers will meet on Saturdays October through February to complete an intensive training course on basic tax law. They must pass the IRS Qualifying Exam in February which authorizes them to prepare federal and California state income tax returns by electronic file or e-file.
Last year 25 student volunteers and four staff and retired staff volunteers began training, passed the certification exam in February and filed 380 returns by e-file and assisted in the preparation of an additional 153 returns that were filed by mail. More than 20,000 UCSD students received instructions about how to apply the Higher Education Tax Credits to their taxes by e-mail and 500 hard copy educational materials were distributed to students and the public to help them better understand their tax situations.
This year VITA at UCSD will expand and have two tax preparation sites. Volunteers will continue to prepare tax returns on campus and additionally will prepare tax returns in a low-income area of San Diego, giving students an increased chance to serve our neighbors in the community and saving low-income families from having to drive to campus.
VITA estimates that members of the San Diego and UCSD community benefit from this program by an average savings of $190 per person in tax preparation fees. Not only a monetary savings, but many taxpayers, unaware of the credits which they may be eligible for, gain knowledge of tax principles from the volunteers which may assist them in the future.
In addition to assisting taxpayers, student volunteers gain from the program by learning tax expertise as well as by interacting with taxpayers from various social, economic and cultural backgrounds.
Media Contacts:
Jan Jennings, (858) 822-1684
Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404