Volunteer tax work a success

PROVO — United Way of Utah County volunteers prepared more than $2.5 million in income tax returns this year through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, organizers said.

Nearly 140 certified volunteers donated their time between January and April 15 to provide free tax-filing help for low- and middle-income individuals.

A total of 2,860 returns were prepared by volunteers at the program's three Provo sites — the Community Action building, St. Francis Catholic Church and Brigham Young University.

"These volunteers really put in a lot of time — not only in helping prepare taxes but in getting certified so they can," said Mary Alice Cannon, director of the volunteer center for United Way of Utah County.

The program has been in place in the county for more than 20 years, Cannon said.

Jim Peterson has been a VITA volunteer for about 13 years. This year, the former Internal Revenue Service employee spent four hours one night a week helping people file their taxes.

"It's expensive to get your taxes done," Peterson said, "and taxes just scare a lot of people. It's a great thing for people to know they can come in for free to see what their refund is."

Not all VITA volunteers are tax experts, he said.

"They're just anybody who wants to help out," Peterson said. "We have attorneys, carpenters, homemakers — volunteers from all walks of life."

All of the volunteers are required to certify through IRS by taking an online course, Cannon said.

Peterson estimates volunteers need to dedicate about eight hours to training in order to meet the minimum requirements for preparing a tax return.

"We also have resources available to make sure we're filling out the returns correctly," he said.

Peterson said volunteering with the VITA program is his way of giving back to the community. It's also rewarding to see low-income families receive the full tax refund to which they are entitled, he said.

"It's a good program," Peterson said. "I'll keep doing it probably forever."

For more information about VITA or other United Way of Utah County programs, visit www.unitedwayuc.org or call 801-374-2588.

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