Student group offers free assistance with taxes
By Sherese Tong
April 1, 2008 9:25 p.m.
Raphael Magana, a UCLA alumnus, said he had no idea how to file a tax return during his first year at UCLA until he learned about Volunteer Income Tax Assistance at UCLA from a friend.
Since then, he has been using its free tax-return service every year. Today, he is coming back again for the service.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a nonprofit organization sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service, is offering free assistance at Ackerman 2408 for people who need help with filing tax returns, from noon to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday until April 15.
While this service is open to everyone, Divya Sudhakar, the head coordinator of the program, said they are primarily targeting individuals in the UCLA community who earn less than $4,000 a year.
“This program is to help low-income individuals with tax returns (to file), to maximize the benefits they could receive, to receive all the credits they are eligible for,” Sudhakar said.
She said many young adults pay taxes but do not have a complete understanding of the procedure for tax returns.
There are altogether 95 trained volunteers involved in this two-week service; all are UCLA students.
According to Joanne Hou, a training coordinator for the program and former Daily Bruin reporter, those seeking tax help simply need to bring certain necessary documents and the volunteers will assess what kind of tax situations they have and what kind of tax forms they need. All tax forms are available on site.
Hou added that since VITA at UCLA is sponsored by the IRS, people who seek help are free from liabilities if there are any errors in the forms filled.
“There is a site ID given by the IRS. We put that next to where people sign on the form … so if we make a mistake, they won’t be liable for it,” Hou said.
Sudhakar said they offer both paper and electronic filing options, and the IRS provides them with all the forms and software needed. But she said electronic filing is more efficient.
“(It) minimizes errors, and you don’t have to send it in by mail,” Sudhakar said.
Carter Brutschy, a fourth-year economics student who volunteers for the program, said the experience allows him to help others as well as himself to understand the tax-return procedure.
“Some people have no idea what they are doing with their taxes, so it’s good to help,” Brutschy said.
Magana, unlike four years ago when he was clueless about tax-return filings, is now bringing his wife along to campus, confident about the whole filing procedure. He said he would like more people to learn about the service offered by VITA at UCLA.
“This is my third year using it,” Magana said. “It’s a great service.”
