Many Pennsylvania residents will be able to receive free help in preparing their 2008 income taxes, thanks to students at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and the federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Every Saturday from Feb. 7 through April 11, Temple’s Ambler Campus Learning Center will be staffed by trained and IRS-certified volunteer tax assistors, many of them students, to provide the free service for people who qualify.

VITA is a free tax preparation program designed to help low-to-moderate income taxpayers who earn $40,000 or less yearly and qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from the Internal Revenue Service. Annually, more than 22 million low-wage workers receive a refundable credit totaling over $43 billion from the EITC.

“The VITA program enables those who cannot afford to pay a commercial service to receive help, free of charge, in filing their 2008 taxes, and we’re thrilled to participate again this year,” said Steven Balsam, Ph.D., CPA, accounting professor at Temple’s Fox School of Business. “By helping those in need, Fox students learn a valuable skill and demonstrate to future employers their commitment to the local community.”

To make an appointment for free tax preparation, qualified Pennsylvania residents should contact Susan Young, associate director of the Temple Center for Undergraduate Advising, at 267-468-8352. Hours are Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The Learning Center is on Loop Road on Temple’s campus at 580 Meetinghouse Road in Ambler.

This is the second year the Fox School has participated in the program. Last year, Fox students processed 100 tax returns and claimed approximately $60,000 in tax refunds. The Temple University Ambler Business Society, formerly the Accounting Professional Society, was instrumental in organizing the first VITA program, inviting the IRS to campus and recruiting volunteers.

Those interested in volunteering can contact Balsam at drb@temple.edu for information about training and IRS certification.

Volunteers can also achieve IRS certification via the Campaign for Working Families, in conjunction with Temple University’s Center for Social Policy and Community Development. Interested volunteers should contact Elly Porter Webb, volunteer coordinator, at 215-851-1759. Certified volunteers can work at Temple’s Ambler Learning Center or be assigned to a Campaign for Working Families location in Philadelphia.

— By Lori Bookbinder