Students volunteer, learn tax prep skills
Lower income taxpayers are getting their income taxes done professionally while students from two local colleges are honing their craft at a low-income tax preparation program in downtown Butler.
Jean Bowen, the coordinator of the county Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, has taken on 17 students from Butler County Community College and 36 from Slippery Rock University to help with individual tax preparation this tax season, in addition to her other 15 other volunteer preparers.
The students get training on basic and advanced tax preparation and are then tested. Those who pass are eligible to volunteer at VITA inside the Center for Community Resources building on South Main Street.
“The IRS said the tax returns filled out by VITA had a 96 percent approval rate,” Bowen said. “That's pretty significant.”
She said the students volunteer about four to six hours per week preparing state and federal income taxes for those earning $54,000 or less.
The basic taxes prepared by the students are always checked by an advanced preparer before being filed.
Tim Kramer, 33, of Slippery Rock is a non-traditional student at BC3 who supported his family as a machinist for several years before being laid off in 2015 from General Electric in Grove City.
A grant he received allowed him to enroll in accounting classes at BC3.
“I liked the numbers involved in machining, but I looked at the potential for job growth in accounting and it seemed like the right thing for me to do,” said Kramer, who plans to open his own accounting business after transferring to and graduating from Slippery Rock University.
He said the volunteer hours at VITA are serving a purpose far beyond giving back to the community.
“You can sit in a classroom all day, but until you're in a seat doing it, you're not really gaining the full perspective (of income tax preparation),” Kramer said.
In class, Kramer said students complete dummy tax forms the old-fashioned way, with pen and ink.
At VITA, he learned to use their computer software.
“The computer is a lot faster and a lot easier,” he said.“He really knows what he's doing,” Bowen said of Kramer.She credited BC3 business instructor Laura Wiest with expertly preparing her students to volunteer with VITA.“These kids come in knowing their stuff,” Bowen said.Kramer is glad for the experience in dealing with the public and preparing taxes.“This gives me the opportunity to practice hands-on,” he said.SRU senior Kayla Mickey, who is a 2014 Knoch High School graduate, volunteers from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Saturday.“I didn't really understand my tax class, so I signed up,” Mickey said.She said she learned that those making $8,000 or less get all of their state taxes back.Mickey said those coming in to get their taxes done don't even flinch when faced with such a fresh-faced young person as their preparer.“Almost everyone I had has been here before, so they know how it works,” she said.Mickey, a business and accounting double major, has landed an internship at a large construction company that plans to hire her in August if she proves herself.She said her experience helping folks complete their income tax returns will be a benefit in her new career.“It helps me become even more of a people person,” Mickey said. “Everywhere I worked was independent and I didn't have to work with anyone.”Carol White, who has volunteered with VITA for eight of the program's nine years in Butler, said this year's students are extremely talented.“They have such a command of the keyboard, for one thing,” White said. “They've grown up on computers.”She said once they learn VITA's tax-preparation software, they're off and running.“It's really a pleasure to work with them,” White said. “It's a win-win for everybody, because the students get valuable experience working in the public in a real-world situation.”Bowen agrees. She said not only do they get experience in tax preparation, but they can pick the brains of the business and accounting professionals who volunteer at VITA each year.“They can find out what they need to do to get into the industry,” Bowen said. “They can also get valuable references.”Bowen said last year's VITA program in the county saw preparers complete and file 2,300 returns and earn taxpayers $3 million in refunds, Earned Income Tax Credits and child tax credits.“That's money being spent in Butler County,” Bowen said.
