2008 Woodie Awards
Students volunteer services at tax clinic
By Velvet Taylor
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
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Melanie McCoskey, professor of accounting, is the coordinator of the tax clinics.
The services of the tax clinics are available to community members and students whose incomes are $40,000 or less.
Eight stations will be available from Jan. 24 through Feb. 23. The hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Last year, 80 to 100 students prepared 339 tax returns worth approximately $600,000, Wilkins said.
Along with students, this year Wilkins is volunteering for the tax clinic.
"This is why I like to volunteer, because it helps the students get hands-on experience," Wilkins said.
Wilkins said volunteers donate over 630 hours of volunteer time. This includes the 200 volunteer hours McCoskey spends coordinating the program.
While at the tax clinic, community members will receive a free tax service and e-filing. E-filing enables the person filing taxes to get their refunds back more quickly than if done on paper. Typically refunds are received in one to two weeks, Wilkins said.
"Any student can volunteer," Wilkins said, "but the majority of the students are accounting majors."
To qualify for volunteering at the tax clinic the student must pass an Internal Revenue Service test called the Vita Certification Test.
"It's a pretty hard test, and that's why it's generally for accounting majors," Wilkins said.
Juanita Eitzen, a Chattanooga senior said, "Some of the IRS test questions were tricky, and it could have been worded better."
Eitzen said she volunteered for two days during the tax clinic's event.
"It is a good experience for me to meet new people and get experience with the IRS system," Eitzen said.
"Between studying and taking the test is about 16 to 25 hours and the student must score an 80 or above to pass," Wilkins said.
