Cal State LA program provides tax-preparation skills to students, millions of dollars to community

About 80 Cal State LA students were responsible for infusing millions of dollars into the local economy earlier this year.

The students, working through the Cal State LA's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, prepared 2,307 tax returns, which brought in $3.5 million in refunds for community members and their fellow students for the 2024 tax season.

That total was a record amount for VITA, which has been in existence since the early 1980s, and the program has the potential to do even better in 2025.

John Cooper, the program's co-faculty advisor, says more than 130 students have already signed up as volunteers for the upcoming tax season, which could help VITA expand its reach. The program, he adds, could accommodate even more volunteers.

VITA benefits all those involved. The volunteer students, most of whom have accounting and finance backgrounds, gain valuable practical experience, and the community members receive tax-preparation services free of charge and, potentially, tax-return checks.

The services are available to low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited English-speaking taxpayers.

VITA takes an assembly-line approach to tax preparation. One group of volunteers meets with clients to make sure all their tax forms are in order. The next group performs the tax-return computations, and a third reviews the forms to ensure everything is correct. Each volunteer is trained on each step of the process.

"In my location, our manager rotated us every week, so we got a chance to experience every branch," said Rowan Idris, a 23-year-old senior majoring in accounting. "We got a chance to build a different skill set with each division."

Idris said she had not previously prepared a tax return before volunteering for VITA, not even for herself. She is volunteering for the program again this year and spoke in front of three of her classes to recruit classmates.

Cooper, an assistant professor with the College of Business and Economics, said the typical tax returns brought to VITA are not so complex that they would intimidate the inexperienced volunteers.

"We don't get complicated returns," he said. "Most of them will have one or two W-2s, maybe one interest statement or social security. So, the volunteers learn them quickly, and by the second week they're comfortable with the process."

International student Abdulazeem Falola went to VITA to have his taxes prepared last tax season. Falola, who is working on his master's degree in business administration, was so impressed with the program that he decided to join it, although that meant he had to play catch-up to the other volunteers to obtain his IRS certification.

"I was able to learn a lot very quickly," said Falola, 25, who is from Nigeria. "I was the new guy on the team and I didn't want to drop the ball. I read up and watched videos online. At first it was a bit strange, but it took me a short time to settle in."

The volunteer work serves as the "first professional-type job," as Cooper puts it, for many of the students.

"I always tell them to put it on their resume," Cooper said. "I did hiring for two different accounting firms, and when I saw VITA on resumes, those resumes went into the good pile. I know the applicants have worked with the public and they know how to use tax software. It's a big deal."

That advice benefited Idris, who credits VITA with helping her land an internship with a big-four accounting firm last summer.

"I was ahead of the other interns because I already knew about taxes and had the experience," she said. "My engagement team and my associates were very impressed with my prior knowledge. VITA meant I wasn't starting from zero."

VITA and the internship helped Idris firm up her career goals; she wants to become a certified public accountant, specialize in taxes, and "maybe work for the IRS one day."

Although the majority of the volunteers are business majors, VITA does draw students from different backgrounds, from social workers to artists, according to Cooper. Some might simply want to learn how to file their own returns, but most are looking to give back to the community.

"The fact that it's free, you see a lot of people come around," Falola said. "Some of them probably can't afford to pay for this service, but we're able to help them out with our knowledge. It's all very positive."

VITA was designed in part to help college students, including foreign students, with their returns. Cooper estimates that only about 5 to 10% of last season's returns were for students.

For the 2024 tax season, VITA operated a tax-preparation site on campus, plus additional locations at four public libraries and one nonprofit site that increased its visibility to the public. Cooper says some clients have been returning for years to use VITA's services.

"They have a lot of questions, and that's fine," Cooper said. "We're not trying to rush them out like we are a for-profit business. They can ask as many questions as they want, and we are willing to talk to them and help them understand."

VITA will begin training volunteers toward IRS certification on Nov. 30, but the program will continue to accept volunteers past that date. Three additional training sessions, two online and one in-person, will be held in January 2025.

Tax-preparation services will then be offered to the public every Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., from Jan. 25 to April 12.

Students interested in volunteering for VITA can email Cooper at [email protected].

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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 24,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.