Last week, WSU sent out a press release announcing that accounting students will be offering appointments for free help preparing taxes.

“Any Utah resident with an annual income of $75,000 or less, with no rental income or cryptocurrency transactions, can receive assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program,” the release said.

WSU Associate Professor of Accounting Dr. Darcie Costello told the Standard-Examiner on Tuesday that WSU has offered the service as part of the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance — or VITA — program for several years.

“Through the program, people who know about individual taxation volunteer to prepare tax returns for low- to middle-income members of their community,” she said.

She added that students have to pass several certification exams in order to participate.

“Those exams make sure that our students understand their ethical responsibilities while they’re volunteering,” she said. “They make sure that the students understand the process that we need to follow to make sure that we are preparing correct and accurate tax returns. And then there are exams the students pass that demonstrate that they have a strong understanding of the tax law for individual taxpayers, and a strong understanding of how to prepare tax returns for individuals.”

Costello said the service helps both students and the community alike.

“It’s kind of unusual to have this sort of an opportunity in an undergraduate program,” she said. “It’s very educational for the students. It’s super beneficial for the community because we end up preparing returns for maybe a couple hundred taxpayers every year.”

The dates and locations for tax help are as follows:

• WSU Davis campus, Building 2 Room 234 in Layton, Feb. 24 and March 10 from 4 to 7 p.m.
• WSU Community Education Center, 2605 Monroe Boulevard in Ogden, March 17, 24, 31 and April 7, 14 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Consultations are by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, visit https://utvita.timetap.com/#/ and select “Weber State Davis Campus” or “Weber State University Community Education Center” as the appointment site.