Penn College Students Again Helping Public With Tax Preparation
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is being provided again by Pennsylvania College of Technology students for individuals needing guidance in preparing their 2011 taxes.
The VITA program is available through April 2 in the Teachers' Learning Center (Room 213) in the Madigan Library on the college's main campus in Williamsport. Sessions will be scheduled from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday by appointment only.
A special first-come-first-served "Super Saturday" for walk-in patrons will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 24 during the college's Open House in Room 200 of the library.
About 20 students, mainly from accounting and legal assistant/paralegal majors in the college's School of Business and Computer Technologies, have been trained in-house and certified by the Internal Revenue Service as tax preparers. Bradley A. Dressler Jr., of Mount Pleasant Mills, an accounting major set to graduate in May, is Penn College's VITA site coordinator this season.
"It's a "win-win' situation," says John D. Grigsby, assistant professor of business administration/accounting at the college, who oversaw a similar program while on the faculty at another institution. "The public gets free assistance with its taxes, the IRS gets returns filed electronically by certified preparers, and the students get experience and the chance to serve the community."
The program is designed for taxpayers who have relatively simple returns and less than $50,000 in annual income. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 570-320-2400, ext.8097; taxpayers should bring such documentation as proper identification, required forms (W-2s, 1099s, etc.), Social Security cards, banking information and receipts in support of deductions.
VITA sessions will not be held during the college's Spring Break (March 5-8).
For more information about accounting and other "degrees that work" offered within the School of Business and Computer Technologies, visit online or call 570-327-4517.
For more about Penn College, visit on the Web , email or call toll-free 800-367-9222.