VITA program returns to university for tax time
As the April 15 tax deadline creeps up, UA students are lining up to have their forms filled out by their peers.
For about 20 years, the Internal Revenue Service has provided the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program with the resources to help University of Arizona students through the horrors of tax time.
"We're basically here to answer questions - taxes are really scary," said Farrah Whitworth, an accounting and management information systems junior.
This year, the UA's Accounting Club and Beta Alpha Psi joined together to sponsor the program, held in the Memorial Student Union Cactus Lounge.
The VITA program will help UA students every Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. in Room 284 of the Student Union up until April 11.
Program volunteers will also work two Saturday sessions, April 3 and 10, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the procrastinators.
"We need to do our own taxes," Whitworth said. "We do not want to be here until midnight on the 15th."
Many of the UA's international students come to the VITA program for assistance in filing their taxes.
"[The international students] bring us their forms and say 'help,'" Whitworth said.
Many of the volunteers do the program for class credit, but others participate to better their knowledge of the accounting procedures.
Whitworth said she helps to gain experience, and does not get any class credit.
VITA volunteers go through a 16-hour training session to hone their skills.
"It's pretty rough, sitting through 16 hours of income taxes." Whitworth said.
The program started out with 35 volunteers before the training, but dropped to about 16 active volunteers.
"We lost a lot with the 16-hour trainings," Whitworth said.
Whitworth said she would like to see more volunteers next year assisting with the program, adding that she enjoys helping students, especially the international students who seem to leave happy.
"Whether they owe or get back, they are always grateful," Whitworth said.
Sridhar Kasichainula, a second-year graduate student focusing on material sciences engineering, decided to use the program again this year.
Kasichainula, a native of India, is new to the United States and finds it easier to have the volunteers fill out his tax forms.
He said he would keep copies of all his information to do his own taxes next year to help decrease the crowd and lower their stress.
"Mostly, I depend on services like this," he said.
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