By Kailee Santiago and Erica Roa, March 5, 2024
Tax season, one of the most stressful seasons, is upon students. To lessen the stress, Cal Poly Pomona offers a program where student volunteers help those with their taxes.
CPP students and alumni volunteers have been operating this cost-free tax preparation program since 2015, making it accessible and convenient for students and low-income families to file their taxes.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program was nationally established at Cal State Northridge in the 1970’s according to the CSU VITA collaboration report. Mohamed Gomaa, associate professor of accounting, is in charge of directing the program at CPP. Since the start of the program, members of the community outside of CPP have been able to obtain services if they meet the qualifications.
The VITA program is comprised of IRS-certified CPP juniors, seniors and alumni. They undergo extensive training and must take an exam to help the community. The program is sponsored by the IRS, California Franchise Tax Board and the CPP Accounting Department
Allison Wong, a business student with an emphasis in accounting, recently joined the VITA program to become a volunteer at the sites. This opportunity allows her to gain experience in taxes so that she can use it toward her professional goals.
“I joined the program to get more exposure in accounting and I wanted to get more insight on how the tax process is done,” said Wong. “Right now, I’ve been doing W2s, and it’s been a great learning experience.”
Some of the requirements that are needed to file with the VITA program are: picture ID of the client, social security card of every person listed on the return and proof of income. A full list of required items in available on the College of Business Administration website.
According to a VITA collaboration report, the program served 590 taxpayers during the 2022 tax season, doubling the amount of taxpayers served in 2021.
The program organizers are hoping to grow the number of taxpayers as more students and Pomona community residents take advantage of this opportunity.
Marilyn Leiva, a first-generation ethnic studies student, said she is looking forward to using this resource for the first time to help file her taxes.
“I still struggle with the basic process of filing my taxes and the preparation so the fact that CPP offers a program that assists students makes me look forward to tax season now,” Leiva said. “I didn’t know this program existed until now.”
Robert Castro, an accounting student, explained how the program helps provide tax literacy to the less fortunate.
The program offers free tax preparation to those whose gross income is $60,000 or less.
“Since we provide free tax services to low-income households, the elderly, limited English speaking taxpayers, I like to educate the clients on the tax credits and overall help them maximize their refunds and their financial being,” said Castro.
Many accounting students look forward to participating in this program because it allows them to gain real-world experience and practice their learned skills. The students who chose to take part in the program look forward to joining a career in taxes and accounting.
Despite the students who look forward to participating in the program, the number of volunteers is scarce.
“We need more volunteers, it would help a ton if we diversified the program,” Castro said. “When we are talking about low-income families, we need all the manpower we can get to support them in the best way possible.”
CPP students and the Pomona community can visit any of the following locations without an appointment: Baldwin Park Library, Sunkist Library, Duarte Library and Pomona Public Library. To access the times and the dates available visit CPP VITA program for more information.
Feature image courtesy of Flickr, Marco Verch.
