SHS students host free tax preparation clinics for the public
(Seguin) — You can go ahead and add tax preparer to the list of accomplishments for a group of Seguin High School students. Tonight, students will continue offering free tax preparation services to eligible taxpayers.
Approximately 15 students enrolled in the business pathway of the district’s Career and Technical Education program are now officially certified to provide services through the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Sergio Jaurrieta, Seguin ISD’s director of career and technical education, says these students have completed the IRS-required training on tax law and available tax credits and are now lending their knowledge and services to the community.
“We have approximately 15 to 18 students that have received their certification. The teachers are working with some 45 to 50 students to go ahead and finish up their certification in the coming weeks. So, these certifications are specific to one of the classes that the teacher is teaching. The certification is tied to what we call the TEA requirements of a Business Approved and Industry Certification. Once the students are finished with the training and are finished with their modules, they are ready to go ahead and do their tax preparation,” said Jaurrieta.
The CTE director says this is the first time a tax certification course has been offered to Seguin High School students.
“The students that are in the business program, the students actually go through training via Tax VITA and they actually do two returns and the returns help the students understand all of the requirements before they receive their certification. Those students actually walk with three certificates from the IRS where they understand the requirements or what it takes to be that tax preparer,” said Jaurrieta.
Jaurrieta says the district is thrilled over the success of the Seguin ISD’s Tax VITA program plus the career readiness it provides.
“VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistant. It’s a grant program from the IRS and it’s a free tax preparation service. What is great about this is they use the programs that the IRS uses so the students are learning what it means to be a professional after high school. We call it Career Ready. The students can go ahead and work for H&R Block as a tax preparer. We try to promote them being in entrepreneurships,” said Jaurrieta.
The free program continues weekly through March. The certified students will be available to help eligible taxpayers at the Seguin High School Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m.
Assistance with basic tax preparation and electronic filing is available for individuals and families who generally make $67,000 or less annually; those with disabilities and those limited English-speaking taxpayers.
Jaurrieta says the course is more than just about basic tax preparation and electronic filing. He says it’s also about customer service.
“One of the things that the students learn in their modules is customer service. One of the certifications is being a greeter and they actually understand what it means to be able to greet someone as a customer – welcoming them into their office, tell them about the process, tell them about the legal requirements that the IRS requires so they really are trained first of all in customer service before they start the income tax preparation,” said Jaurrieta.
To complete taxes promptly, those seeking assistance are asked to bring the following items with them each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.
Those items include original photo identification, such as driver’s license, school, employer, military, or state ID for you and your spouse (if married)
– Social Security cards or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number documents
– Birth dates for you, spouse, and dependents
– A copy of last year’s tax return
– All Forms W-2 and 1099
– Form 1095-A, if applicable
– Information for other income, deductions, and credits
AND the total paid to daycare providers and their tax ID number
Emily Allen, Seguin ISD director of communications, says although they are confident in the students’ tax preparation skills, the tax clinic is designed to ensure accuracy.
“The students’ teacher is certified to complete tax returns as well, so she is going to help with reviews and there is a second certified tax preparer also who is ensuring accuracy, so we want to make sure that the public has peace of mind if they decide to use our student services. Again, this is a free program, and we think it’s a really great opportunity for our students to develop some very valuable life skills while also providing a wonderful service to our community,” said Allen.
For direct deposit of a refund, proof of account and bank’s routing number should also be provided. Both spouses will also need to be present for those married and filing jointly.
Again, tax preparation is just one of the newly added programs for the CTE program.