Beta Alpha Psi, an honors accounting program at SIU, is helping students and community members with tax preparation. 

Students from Beta Alpha Psi will help prepare tax returns involving wages or salaries, interest income, dividends received, state tax refunds, unemployment benefits, IRA distributions, pension income, social security benefits and more, according to a release from the university.

They will be sponsoring the free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), which helps low and moderate income students and community members to complete their 2020 tax returns. 

VITA begins Feb. 8 and will continue every Saturday until April 4, with the exception of spring break. Participants are required to bring their driver’s license or passport and their social security card. They are also offering a drop off service option this year, for the first time since the program’s inception. 

Area residents can receive assistance from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the computer lab on the lower level of Rehn Hall. 

The service also includes free electronic filing and residents do not have to wait for returns to be prepared. 

VITA services are on a first-come-first-serve basis, and no appointment is needed, however those who show up late may be asked to return on a different date. 

The students are unable to perform tax returns for people who are not U.S. citizens. 

Staff reporter Bethany Rentfro can be reached at [email protected]. 

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