Wilmington College Designated as VITA Site for Tax Assistance
As tax season approaches, a number of Wilmington College students are looking forward to assisting persons in preparing their annual tax returns.
(PICTURED) Accounting faculty member Al Beatty instructs students in tax preparation during the fall semester.
The nine IRS-certified, volunteer tax preparers will offer this service free-of-charge as part of the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). Wilmington College is a VITA site that offers tax help to persons who, generally, make less than $54,000, those with disabilities and taxpayers with limited English-speaking skills.
The students will provide basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. This service generally includes basic returns of wage earners (W-2) and retirees (1099-R and Social Security), who might also have such additional forms of income as interest, dividents (1099-INT, DIV) and unemployment (1099-G).
A limited amount of itemized returns (Schedule A with home mortgage, interest, charitable contributions, medical expenses, etc.) will also be available, along with such popular credits as Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, Retirement Savers Credit, etc.
All nine student volunteers have passed at least three levels of IRS Certification. Several also took WC’s Tax Accounting course instructed during the fall semester by Al Beatty, assistant professor of accounting, who is an IRS Enrolled Agent/Site Manager. One of his accounting majors, Tara Karnes, worked a VITA site last year and is helping him manage the VITA site.
Hours of operation will be Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 5 to 8 p.m., between Jan. 24 and April 18, and on the following Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon: Feb. 4, 11, 18 and April 8. Sessions will be held in WC’s Center for the Sciences and Agriculture, corner of College and Elm streets. The site will be closed March 2 through 23.
More information is available by contacting Beatty at al_beatty@wilmington.edu while appointments can be scheduled with Karnes at (937) 763-9932 or tkarnes@wilmington.edu.
WC Students Are IRS-Certified to Provide Free Tax Preparation
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