Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program provides free tax preparation services to low-income taxpayers living and working in the Columbus metro area. In 2024, our Master of Accounting student volunteers completed 147 tax returns and helped Ohioans receive $175,934 in refunds!
The Fisher VITA site is closed for the year. You can make an appointment at another VITA site in the area at the United Way Tax Time website.
Congratulations to VITA!
The VITA program was part of a group of OSU community service projects recognized by President Bush on the Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction.
Learn more about the award.
VITA is a national operation, and most business schools operate a worksite every year. VITA and Beta Alpha Psi have a national partnership, with various levels of cross-promotion and incentives for quality work by the student volunteers.
Community service of this type - highly visible, involving lower income citizens, capturing tax refunds for them that otherwise would be ignored or given to for-profit tax preparers - is an important function of the college and the university. It helps OSU students develop an appreciation for client service and interaction, build their resumes, and "give back" to the taxpayers who make the university available. And it can bring significant amounts of tax refund/credit money from Washington into the local economy.
Professor Marissa Nelson, CPA, is the director of Fisher's VITA program at OSU.
The program operates a chapter of the IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. It also is a member of the Columbus Tax Time coalition, organized by the United Way Central Ohio, to aid citizens in obtaining the full amount of the credit as funded for them by Congress.
The program works with the United Way and HandsOn Central Ohio to provide appointments for low-income taxpayers as they prepare their federal and state income tax returns. It offers workstations where qualified taxpayers come to work with our volunteers to complete their tax forms and file them electronically.
The VITA Program at OSU was supported in 2024 by 37 student volunteers from the MAcc program.
Support for the student volunteers - computer equipment, e-filing training, uniforms, and refreshments - are provided by the United Way, Godman Guild, OSU Extension, the IRS, Fisher College, and the AMIS department.