Students offer free tax prep

Faculty member Deborah Hocking (left) works with some of the student tax preparers.

Avolunteer effort by Shippensburg University students is helping both the students and low-to-moderate income individuals in the area who need help to complete their tax returns.

Members of the Shippensburg University Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program are providing free tax return preparation to qualifying families and individuals with incomes below $40,000.

VITA is a national program set up by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and sponsored by the Community Action Commission "Money in Your Pocket" Campaign. It provides free assistance to low to moderate-income individuals and families. Thirty upper level accounting and business students in the university's John L. Grove College of Business have taken training classes and been certified by the IRS to provide high quality tax preparation service including e-filing of both federal and state returns for fast refunds. Local returns are also prepared.

Deborah Hocking, assistant professor of accounting, is the VITA site director. "We can help others with taxes way before the due date and save the hassle later," Hocking said. "This is a terrific learning experience for the students and a wonderful community service that Shippensburg University can be very proud of."

The services are offered in the Shippensburg Area Senior High School Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. and both the Shippensburg Public Library and Coyle Free Library in Chambersburg Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until April 15. Walk-ins are welcome.

To use these services single taxpayers must have an income of $12,590 or lower with no children, $33,241 or lower with 1 child, or $37,783 or lower with two or more children, while married taxpayers filling jointly must have an income of $14,590 or lower with no children, $35,241 or lower with one child, or $39,783 or lower with two or more children.

A tax filing session lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the amount of paperwork and information a person brings in and then the returns are efiled online for free. For quickest completion, people should bring a Social Security card or Tax Identification Number for anyone on the tax return, records of the prior year's federal/state returns, information with the account and routing transit number of a financial institution for direct deposit, copies of all W2, 1098 and 1099 forms, and the amount of any other income.

All of the students are using skills such as interviewing clients, researching taxes, solving potential tax problems and working together as a volunteer team in a hands-on environment.

"The program is awesome," said sophomore Amy Klinedinst of Dover. "This experience gives me a better understanding of tax law and direct experience with tax preparation while also providing a free tax service to the people who need it most. It really is a win-win situation."

Melissa Eshleman, student site coordinator for VITA, encourages all eligible participants to let the students help as much as they can. She has already noticed how this service has brought students and the community together. "We're working to provide members of the community with the best outcome for each situation while also helping the families understand how taxes work," said Eshleman, of Williamsport. "It's an excellent opportunity to benefit the community with a volunteer service that we want to provide and learn from."

For information, log on to http://webspace.ship.edu/vita or contact Hocking at 860-3164.