Every week at various times, you can find Waco taxpayers lining the halls of University High School, La Vega High School and the Central Library meeting room. They’re all there to have their taxes done – for free.
Both University High School and La Vega High School are part of the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, which offers free tax help to some taxpayers.
University High VITA teacher, Andrew Pierce, said the program is an important part of Career and Technology Education (or CTE) initiatives at University High.
"They are going to learn customer service skills," Pierce said. "The accounting will help them is they own a business, if they become an accountant, they’ll use a lot of that."
For the La Vega High School sophomores Jr. and Tyrell, volunteering to prepare taxes is about more than just learning basic accounting skills.
"I just like, you know, the conversations we have, helping people out, making it easier for them," they said.
For University High School junior Karren Chavez, the tax prep program is a first step towards a career in business.
"It’s really fun just participating in taxes," Chavez said. "I wanna be an accountant when I’m older so I have a lot of enjoyment whenever I do this."
After the students prepare a client’s tax return, they give the payer information about next steps. For most taxpayers, that means providing consent to e-file and banking information for any returns they might receive.
La Vega High School VITA instructor, Lisa Carter said any students involved in the program spend months preparing.
"We do have parameters that we have to work within," she said.
And before they can prepare anybody’s taxes, students have to take a test to be certified by the IRS.
"Some of our students have only taken the basic certification and then some of our students have done it before so they do the advanced [returns]," she said.
Every tax return is reviewed before being submitted.
Carter said, the taxpayers often leave with a smile, thankful that they don’t have to worry about trying to figure out taxes on their own.
La Vega High school holds tax preparation sessions at the Central Library on Mondays from 10 am – 2 pm and at La Vega High School on Wednesdays from 4:30 – 6:30 pm.
University High School holds tax preparation sessions at University High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 – 6:30 pm.
Both high schools will hold sessions until April 10.
