Community Partnerships Office offers free tax help

More than 60 UW–Madison students are participating in an innovative program designed to provide low income, elderly and disabled Madison residents with free state and federal income tax help.

Running through April 15, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is operating on the second floor of Villager Center, 2300 S. Park St. The program is a partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, UW–Madison and UW-Extension Dane County.

The Villager is also home to UW–Madison’s Community Partnerships Office.
In addition to UW–Madison students in accounting, personal finance and consumer science majors, another 60 volunteers from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and retired local Certified Public Accountants are participating.

“It’s an invaluable service that can help lower income households,” says Brandon Peterson, a three-year VITA veteran, who is majoring in consumer science through the School of Human Ecology. “I’m very proud to be able to be aligned with great people that want to do this good work.”

VITA volunteers are specially trained to help taxpayers take advantage of all available tax credits and breaks and will electronically file the returns, ensuring quick refunds.

In 2003, 3,000 returns were filed which translated into millions of dollars in refunds to individuals and families, says Mary Rouse, director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service. This year’s goal is 4,000 returns.

While some UW–Madison volunteers participate for purely altruistic reasons, others can receive academic course credit as part of service-learning classes that require a hands-on component of study-in this case, tax law.

To ensure shorter waits, it is important for VITA participants to bring all pertinent tax documents, including, but not limited to: W-2 wage statements, information on other sources of income, interest and dividend statements, deduction and tax credit documentation, Social Security cards and tuition payment statements.

Although the program is geared to low income, elderly and disabled residents, it is open to the general public, including students, faculty and staff. No reservations are required and on-site childcare is available. Spanish-speaking volunteers are also available.

VITA will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays from1-6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

For more information, call (608) 261-2271 or visit http://www.dor.state.wi.us/news/040123pr.html.