As Tax Season Begins, MAcc Students Serve
It's finally here! VITA - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance - has begun!
Each winter for six weeks, Fisher MAcc and select undergraduate students volunteer at Godman Guild and the OSU Law Extension Center in Columbus to provide tax preparation assistance to low-income individuals and families. After weeks of organizing training and compiling schedules (with much help from other volunteers), we kicked off our first volunteer session on Friday at Godman Guild.
We had several individuals come in and were able to prepare their federal tax returns to be submitted at the end of the month. These Columbus residents are able to obtain refunds through several different credits including the child tax credit and earned income credit. What is more important than learning how to complete the tax returns is the time we spend hearing the stories of these people who are really our neighbors. For many of the people we help, their tax refund will be the largest sum of money received in the year and will help them make it through the winter. We had a few familiar faces as well - people have been coming to Godman Guild for our assistance since the program began ten years ago.
I'm excited to see how the rest of the tax season goes as we continue to complete returns at Godman Guild and the Law Extension Center. I'll be sure to give an update at the end of the season to share how many individuals we were able to help in these six weeks of service!