MC accounting professor Judy Peterson, coordinator of the college’s program, said that the program has a two-fold purpose: "service and education for the community, and citizenship and education for the students."

The service is aimed primarily at low- to middle-income taxpayers, generally with an income of $40,000 or less, who cannot afford professional assistance in the preparation of their return. All ages of taxpayers are served, from students through retirees.

"Everyone who comes to the site is strongly encouraged to e-file," said Peterson, who reported that the first date that VITA will be in session is Feb. 2. "Taxpayers can expect quicker response to their filings, and the IRS can reduce its processing costs."

At Monmouth College, VITA personnel will be available Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m., starting Feb. 4. For the first two weeks, the college site will also be open on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. VITA will not be in session during the college’s spring and Easter breaks. The final day of service will be April 14 on the college campus.

"If individuals have a disability that prevents them from climbing stairs, they should visit the library locations, which are wheelchair accessible," said Peterson.

The 25 Monmouth students enrolled in the program will be completing IRS certification requirements in January after attending workshops to study new tax laws and to orient them to the commercial software and internal control processes used. Three upper-level accounting students who have accompanied Peterson for training will assist her in coordinating the program. They are seniors Jennifer Carter of Marseilles, Katrina Anderson of Dow and Kelly Compton of Oneida.

Peterson is excited that 17 of her VITA students are enrolled in a senior capstone course called "Taxes and the Citizenry" course, which fulfills a new citizenship requirement in the college’s curriculum.

"Students in this course, besides participating in VITA, will be researching and discussing tax policy issues and submitting a paper, as well as giving an oral presentation," said Peterson, who gave a presentation on her new course last fall at a national accounting education colloquium in Arizona. "I don’t see many colleges and universities even having a VITA program, and to have it integrated in this manner with policy issues is truly one of a kind."

Another new feature of Monmouth’s VITA program is that a Spanish interpreter will be available on certain dates. The VITA program will also be able to help individuals who do not have a Social Security Number, but need to file a tax return. They will be instructed on preparing Form W7 to obtain an individual tax identification number (ITIN). The form can be prepared and submitted with the individual’s tax return.

"There are not many changes that will affect the individual taxpayer this year," added Peterson. "There are the typical increases in standard deductions, exemptions, tax brackets and earned income credit amounts to account for the effects of inflation. A new item for this year is that the IRS will no longer be using the signature document, Form 8453, for e-filing. E-filers will now be using PIN numbers to electronically sign their returns. Taxpayers, however, will still need to sign Form 8879, so from their point of view, not much has changed."

Last year, Monmouth’s VITA program prepared or assisted with 414 federal and 414 state returns. This represented a 24 percent increase over the previous year. E-filed returns increased by 15 percent. Since the computerized service began in 2000, the program has experienced an increase of nearly 350 percent for returns prepared/assisted and an increase of nearly 700 percent for e-filed returns.

"On a scale of 1 to 5, taxpayers rated their overall satisfaction as 4.90, and 100 percent of the taxpayers said they would use our services again and also recommend a friend," said Peterson. "We are certainly pleased with the success of this program and the value to both the students and the surrounding communities."

For persons seeking a Spanish interpreter, one will be available on the following dates: Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 2 at the MC location; and Feb. 9, and 23 and March 1 at the Warren County Public Library location.

In order to receive income tax assistance, individuals need to bring several items, including Social Security cards for each person listed on the return, all documentation on income (such as W-2s and 1099s) and last year’s return.

For questions regarding this service, call Peterson at 309-457-2365 or visit the VITA Web site at department.monm.edu/accounting/vita.htm. The complete list of items that taxpayers need to bring and other useful information is available there.