Ed Hobbs, assistant professor of accounting and finance at SOSU, said: “We are pleased to again be partnering in the VITA Program with Big Five Community Services. I see it as an assistance and education program; as a result, taxpayers will be encouraged to take an active interest in the preparation of their tax returns.”

VITA is a national program supported by the Internal Revenue Service. It is designed to provide free tax assistance to individuals with basic tax returns. It is a general requirement of the program that all VITA returns be e-filed.

SOSU student volunteers are advanced accounting majors who have taken the University’s individual income tax course. Additionally, they have attended an 8-hour seminar to cover a 300-plus page course book supplied by the IRS and identify issues likely to arise in the VITA center.

Hobb said, “I see the program as a win-win-win situation in that it is a benefit to the community, to SOSU and our students, and it gives us the opportunity to partner with Big Five Community Services. The people in the community get a useful service, SOSU gets some community recognition and our students get experience dealing with the public.”

The VITA program is designed to help with basic tax returns and those with more complex returns should not seek VITA assistance.

The VITA program will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning Jan. 31 in the Big Five Community Services building, 1502 N. 1st Avenue.

Hours of operation will be 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, and 4-7 p.m. Tuesdays (Tuesday’s schedule is through March 15th only).

Ms. Beth Parker is the VITA coordinator at Big Five. For further information, contact her at 580-924-5331. Hobbs can be reached at 580-745-2578 or ehobbs@sosu.edu.