AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP)– The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) at UMass-Amherst will be providing free domestic and international tax service for students and the public.
Seventy student volunteers from the Isenberg School of Management at the campus are running the program.
VITA services are completely remote. They will not prepare prior year returns.
VITA will hold remote Zoom sessions to answer questions related to tax filings. Interested people can click on the Zoom link to join the waiting room in the Zoom session, which are first-come, first-serve and reservations are not available. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 4:00-6:00 p.m., from February 15 to April 12. They will not be open on Tuesday, February 22, or during Spring Break.
Filers will need to have access to Zoom with a camera or video ability (Zoom.com) and will need to upload tax documents to a secure IRS Tax Client Portal or share documents via Zoom in order to be eligible. Other eligibility requirements:
- You must have income less than $73,000
- You must have all your tax forms ready (W-2’s, interest, tuition statements, health insurance information, etc.)
- You cannot be self-employed, have rental income, or farm income
- You cannot have interest, dividend, or stock sales of more than $10,000
- You will need to show a gov’t issued photo ID with your name on it and your Social Security card(s) for everyone on your tax return.
- If you are filing with a spouse, both of you will need to be present during the tax return preparation process.
International students at UMass should refer to the International Programs Office website for information about filing taxes.
VITA tax preparation services will be available from February 6 through April 12, 2023. No services are available on Wednesday, February 22 or the week of March 12. People can email VITA with questions at: VITA@isenberg.umass.edu. Click here to make an appointment for Domestic VITA. More information on the VITA program can be found here.
