Income Tax Assistance

Program Overview

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is a free tax preparation service available to individuals whose household income is $56,000 or less, the elderly, and persons with disabilities and limited English speakers who need assistance in preparing their tax returns. This opportunity is open to anyone who desires to learn how to prepare income taxes using tax software. No prior experience in preparing taxes or knowledge of accounting is required. The VITA program relies on IRS-certified volunteers to prepare taxes for incoming clients, thus the volunteers must pass certification tests to become IRS-certified volunteers. The Study materials for these tests are free-of-charge to all participants. The VITA program runs from January to April every year, and at the end of the tax season, all volunteers get a certificate of recognition from the IRS acknowledging their participation in the VITA program.

Get College Credit

QCC students have different options to get college credit:

Register for the ACC 225 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (Recommended choice for Students)

QCC is offering the VITA service opportunity as a regular class (4 Credits) class. QCC Students obtain a regular grade, which counts towards their GPA, and can use financial aid to pay for the class. The class is “ACC 225 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance”. This class is open to students from any major, as a free elective or a business elective, for business majors. Students who wish to take this class are required to register for it, as they do for regular classes. To become an IRS-certified volunteer under the VITA program, students must attend training sessions (in-class) during the first 2 weeks of classes at QCC main Campus; then complete 12 sessions of free tax-preparation-service hours at a local VITA site commissioned by the Worcester Free Tax Service Coalition (off campus). The site opens from January to April and students select the days of the week that they want to prepare taxes. Students complete their 12 (3 hour sessions) at the site on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. All QCC Students who complete this class are required to attend a recognition ceremony at the end of the tax season.

Prior Learning Credit (Only QCC Students)

Students can also volunteer and get college credit through the career office if they are a current QCC student. Students must complete a portfolio assessment at the end of the tax season and pay a fee of $260 (No financial aid available) to get a 4 credits as a business elective class for Business Majors, or a free elective class for other majors. Students obtain a Pass/Fail grade, which does not count towards their GPA. The class is listed as ACC288 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance on their transcripts. Students interested in this prior learning opportunity option must first inform the program coordinator, and then meet with a representative from the QCC career office. Students must also take the certification tests to become IRS-certified as tax preparers. Students must volunteer a minimum of 36 hours at the off-campus tax preparation site and attend a recognition ceremony.

Honors By Contract (Only for QCC Honors Program students)

Honors by Contract is an agreement between an honors student and a QCC faculty member. The contract is designed to supplement a non-honors course by involving the student in the VITA program to receive honors credit for a course the student has already taken or is currently taking at QCC. The honors student must complete at least 36 hours of service at the VITA site. For assistance with honors contracts please contact the honors program coordinator Susan McPherson  at smcpherson [at] qcc.mass.edu

Volunteer

Individuals can complete the service as a volunteer. Every year the site count with the support of volunteers from different organizations and colleges in the area. The Volunteer will select the days they want to volunteer. They will select the days and times that they want to prepare taxes at the site (Wednesday, Friday or Saturday).

For more information contact the VITA program coordinator, Eduardo Rivas, at vita [at] qcc.mass.edu.

Get your taxes done with us for free 

Our QCC students and volunteers prepare basic tax returns. To be eligible to have your taxes done by our participants you must have income of $56,000 or less in the tax year being filed. Because we take our commitment to preparing accurate returns seriously, we do not prepare returns outside of our prescribed scope.