SPOKANE, Wash. - It's tax-filing season and 14 Eastern Washington University accounting students are working as certified volunteer tax preparers for the Internal Revenue Service's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at the United Way site (920 N. Washington St., Suite 100).
As of mid-February, the site has filed nearly 180 returns generating more than $344,000 for residents with half the tax-filing season remaining. EWU students have logged 200 volunteer hours and helped with 100 tax returns.
The VITA program offers free tax return preparation for low-income individuals in the community, many of whom depend on the earned income tax credit and other payments from the IRS (such as tax refunds) to make ends meet. The United Way site is one of nine Spokane County locations free to qualifying filers from Feb. 1 through April 15.
The EWU students volunteer at the United way site on Fridays, while more than 60 Gonzaga University students work one-on-one with folks every Tuesday and Saturday. The AARP provides four volunteers to review the students' work.
For more information, please contact Tara Dowd with the Spokane County United Way at 509.838.6581 or tarad@unitedwayspokane.org.
####
