UA Little Rock hosts VITA program to help people file taxes for free

Beginning Feb. 4, members of the community can visit the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to file their taxes for free.

UA Little Rock will run a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for the third year in a row on Wednesdays from Feb. 4 to April 8. Walk-in appointments will be available from 1:30-6:30 p.m. in the College of Business room 105. The clinic will be closed on March 25 due to spring break.

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $56,000 or less, people with disabilities, non-residents, and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need help preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals. However, they are unable to prepare tax returns for individuals who are self-employed or contribute to a health savings account.

Taxpayers have an option to prepare their own free simple federal and state tax return using web-based tax preparation software using an onsite computer. To have a return prepared by a volunteer, members of the public should bring a valid photo identification, Social Security card, W-2s, 1099s, health coverage statements, a copy of last year’s tax return, and any other information and forms concerning income and expenses for 2019.

Faculty members from the UA Little Rock Department of Accounting and students from the UA Little Rock Accounting Society and Beta Alpha Psi have been training for months to provide tax help for the public. Members of UA Little Rock’s Beta Alpha Psi started working on  the VITA program at UA Little Rock in 2017 after learning about the public assistance effort at a conference in 2016.

For more information, contact Jessalyn Jackson at jgjackson1@ualr.edu or 217-494-4398.