Student volunteers provide tax help

Volunteers at the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office span a wide age range, from UW–Madison students to retirees.

But all share a common goal: giving community members free help in filing their state and federal income tax returns. The VITA office, 2300 S. Park St., is designed to serve low-income, elderly and disabled people, but is open to all residents seeking assistance.

More than 40 UW–Madison students are participating in the program. The filing deadline for tax returns is April 15.

“I get a chance to help people, and that gives me a great feeling, but it’s the taxpayer that truly benefits from the service,” says Taylor Seiling, volunteer and president of Financial Occupations Club for University Students (FOCUS) in UW–Madison’s School of Human Ecology. “We make sure they get every credit or deduction they rightfully deserve, and we make sure they get back the refund they deserve or pay the government or state the appropriate amount.”

Veronica Anderson, a personal finance major, agrees. “I enjoy the chance to use the knowledge I attained from the classroom to help out community members who may not be familiar with all of the complex tax laws,” she says. “There is no greater feeling than telling someone that they are going to be getting back a much bigger return than they expected.”

Some FOCUS members stay in Madison after graduation and return to volunteer with VITA each spring.

Ryan Rosenow, who earned a consumer science degree last year and now is a financial adviser with American Express Financial Advisers, volunteers on Saturday afternoons.

“I enjoy helping people, and this is a way for me to do that,” Rosenow says. “UW-Madison gave us tremendous opportunities in life, and I think that it is important that we use that in order to give back to the university and the communities we live in, to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Dozens of volunteers helped individuals and couples file more than 3,800 returns through the service in 2004, says Michael Gutter, professor of consumer science and director of the Certified Financial Planner program.

Gutter says last year’s service saved VITA users more than $800,000 in tax-preparation and e-filing fees and helped keep millions of dollars in the community by identifying deductions and tax credits.

VITA is open from 1-6 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call (877) 227-7669 or (800) 829-1040, or visit the Web site.

For quicker service, VITA participants should bring all pertinent tax information, including, but not limited to: W-2 wage statements, information on other sources of income, Social Security cards, birth date information, interest and dividend statements, bank routing numbers and account numbers for direct deposit and tuition payment statements.

The South Madison VITA Partnership Project includes the Internal Revenue Service, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, AARP, UW–Madison, the UW–Madison School of Human Ecology, UW-Extension Dane County, Centro Hispano and United Refugee Service. Each partner provides volunteers and resources that contribute to the success of the project.