With tax season well underway, a group of University of Delaware students is volunteering to help low and moderate income Delawareans file their income taxes.
The UD program is part of a nationwide effort funded by the IRS called the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA. Karen McDougal is a CPA and instructor of accounting at UD. She runs the UD VITA site.
“The IRS began funding this program because there are a lot of essential credits that go unclaimed," she said. "The earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, the dependent care credit, and education credits.”
“The program is available for any residents that earn less than $67,000 a year, and the focus is on low to moderate income families, persons with disabilities, and individuals with limited English," she said.
UD’s VITA site is one of ten managed by one of the state’s most storied houses of worship.
“Nehemiah Gateway is a community development corporation that is an offspring of Shiloh Baptist Church, the oldest black church in Wilmington," McDougal said.
McDougal says the students volunteering for the program learn the importance of community service, as well as a sense of empathy for those less fortunate.
