UI students help lessen the burden of doing taxes
Mar. 3—The University of Idaho has assembled a team of IRS-certified student volunteers to provide direct tax filing assistance to those earning less than $57,000 a year.
Organizers described the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, as a "free H &R Block," almost completely sponsored by the IRS.
UI accounting professor Linda Chen, who directly oversees student volunteers working on the project said in the past the university has offered more limited IRS service called facilitated self-assistance where volunteers help people navigate tax documents.
Mike Nugen, director of administrative and financial operations for the UI's law school and site coordinator for the program, said VITA is a collaborative effort between the university's college of business and the law school. Nugen said the program is a boon not only to community members in need but to the university and students as well.
"It definitely helps our community in a lot of ways — as an accountant, I know that taxes can be confusing, they can be a very scary situation for a lot of people," Nugen said. "The other thing ... is it provides our students with a lot of good opportunities, whether it's just to learn or to help people."
Nugen said once he and Chen have set the system up and the volunteers trained, the clinic will be largely run by the students. He said while anyone who completes certification is welcome to help out, volunteers came primarily from these the UI's college of business and the law school.
In the case of accounting students from the college of business, Chen said the VITA program serves a purpose similar to internships or residency programs. As for law students, she said the program could provide valuable insight for certain kinds of legal specialties.
"If (law students) want to participate, they have to just wear their tax intern hat and pass all the certifications," Chen said. "It's not for everybody — if you are interested in specializing in criminal law, probably this is not the right volunteer (opportunity) but if you're interested in corporate law or tax law, this is a fantastic opportunity."
With the unique fiscal impacts of the pandemic being felt by taxpayers across the country, Chen said the IRS was "thrilled" to expand its work with local volunteers to help address some of these idiosyncrasies. For example, she said those whose income falls below the standard deduction are typically not required to file a return — however, if they don't, it's likely they'll miss out on stimulus.
Similarly, she said parents of babies born at the tail end of 2020 may not know they're still entitled to disbursements outlined for parents last year.
While these caveats can seem complex, Chen said IRS-certified volunteers work in rotating teams on each set of tax documents and there are several stages of verification to make sure nothing is missed.
"To assure correctness, there are three team members — one is taking the survey questions, one is addressing these questions (and) filing the return and then the third person will be reviewing it," Chen said. "After the three of them work together and say 'This one is done,' then they submit it and then we go through the final review before we submit for e-filing."
Virtual tax assistance with UI volunteers is available 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays, 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. In-person assistance is available Wednesdays, in the Menard Law Building from 5 to 7 p.m. Appointments can be made by emailing law-vita@uidaho.edu.
Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.
