Taxmasters

Rowan students in 2010 are keeping alive a decades-long tradition on campus - helping low- to moderate-income wage earners and families complete their tax returns.

The IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, through which students become certified tax preparers, serves hundreds of southern New Jersey households for free each year.

Margaret Van Brunt, assistant dean of the Rohrer College of Business, said the only requirement of taxpayers is to have a household income of $49,000 or less.

"We offer everything a full-service tax preparer does and, as long as they meet the income limit, there's no charge," Van Brunt said.

She said about 75 Rowan students from the College of Business are volunteer tax preparers and that they will likely complete upwards of 300 returns this year. Through early March, returns prepared by Rowan students generated Federal tax refunds of more than $165,000.

"That's money that can be spent in the local economy," Van Brunt said.

She noted that refund amounts have been markedly up this year thanks to recent changes in the Federal income tax code benefitting low- to moderate-income Americans.

VITA certification requires about two hours of classroom lessons and six to eight hours of self-study but the real lessons come through the work itself.

"This isn't just about honing their tax skills," Van Brunt said. "This is about honing their interpersonal skills. In preparing tax returns they have to ask probing, personal questions, sometimes questions they're not comfortable with, like age, marital status and whether there are disabilities in the household."

Students benefit not just by developing the potentially lucrative skill of completing tax returns, but learning how to relate to people in a business setting, Van Brunt said.

"Having this experience assists them as they go on to get internships and jobs. All accounting majors tend to take the same classes but this is the kind of experience that makes them stand out," she said.

Senior accounting major Amy Dombrowski, 23, of Runnemede, said potential employers have surprised her with questions about having VITA experience.

"To them it's as valuable as an internship," Dombrowski said. "They actually look for it on resumes."

Van Brunt said the program, funded in part by a $2,500 grant from the IRS, has also sent student tax preparers to the Linden Lakes Senior Complex in Lindenwold and to the Cramer Hill Community Development Corp. in Camden.

"It's true service learning," she said. "You're serving the community and you're learning."

Students in the VITA program will prepare tax returns from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays through April 14 in Rowan's Campbell Library, located on Rt. 322 in Glassboro. Additionally, they will hold a Saturday session March 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No service will be offered during spring break, March 15 to 19.

No appointments are necessary but returns are completed on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, contact Assistant Dean Van Brunt in the College of Business at 856-256-4047 or by e-mail at vanbrunt@rowan.edu.