University of Dubuque Students Help Prepare Taxes for Free Through VITA

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Tax season can be filled with anxiety, stress, and uncertainty for many. University of Dubuque student Ben Egan and his classmates helped relieve those concerns for some in the community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

VITA offers free tax return preparations for eligible taxpayers who generally make $67,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers. All volunteers are IRS-certified.

"It's really fulfilling to help people in our community," said Egan, a senior accounting, human resource management, and business triple major from Mediapolis, Iowa.

For Jenny McGarry, DBA, CPA, assistant professor of business at UD, VITA was an exciting opportunity to provide her Fed Taxation II students the chance to apply what they learned in the classroom while also collaborating with the community.

"Experiential learning opportunities like this provide students with the chance to practice and reflect," she said. "We all get stuck in a rut of getting the 'right' answer, so my intent is to give them messy experiences that they can navigate, sort through, and resolve. I believe this helps students develop skills and confidence beyond accounting. Additionally, VITA is an incredible community service. I feel good that we are giving back and saving low-income tax payers a few hundred dollars in tax preparation fees."

McGarry partnered with Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) to offer VITA services. Eight students were certified and spent four class periods preparing 35 tax returns.

"I really enjoyed giving back to the community, one thing that UD has really emphasized through my four years," said Hayden Warner, a senior accounting, human resource management, marketing, and communication quadruple major from Cantonment, Florida.

Students collaborated with one another to review tax documents and identify questions. If they were unable to find the answer amongst themselves, they would turn to McGarry for help. Once the taxes were completed, students received feedback from HACAP to make any needed adjustments.

Morgan Lahner, a senior accounting and business double major from Elburn, Illinois, enjoyed the real-world, hands-on experience VITA provided. She felt the collaborative effort - similar to a tax preparation business with peer reviews - was critical.

"It was nice to have that support system when we went into the actual preparation of the returns and being able to ask questions and learn together," Lahner said.

All professors love when lightbulb moments happen in the classroom. For McGarry, VITA provided her students with so many of those moments including "I feel confident in my decision to study accounting," "This is great; I love tax," "What the heck am I doing; I need to find a different career path," and "I have a passion to help ... how can I use my skills to be of service?"

"In my opinion, these are all great moments that help contribute to student success," McGarry said.