Penn College Students Provide Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., Feb. 21 -- Pennsylvania College of Technology issued the following news:

Pennsylvania College of Technology students again are volunteering their time to help qualified individuals as they prepare their 2013 income tax returns.

More than a dozen students, most of them majoring in accounting but also representing the college's financial planning, legal assistant, business management and information technology majors, have undergone months of extensive training to become certified tax preparers by the Internal Revenue Service.

The free service, part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program sponsored by the IRS, is designed for taxpayers who have relatively uncomplicated returns and less than $51,000 in annual income.

"It's a win for everyone: students, the local community and the IRS," said John D. Grigsby, assistant professor of business administration/accounting and head of the accounting and financial planning department, who oversees the college's VITA program. "The students get hands-on training and experience with customer service, the public gets the credible help it needs at tax time, and the IRS receives electronically filed returns."

The services are provided Monday through Saturday on an appointment-only basis in the Teachers Learning Center in the college's Madigan Library (Room 213). A "Super Saturday" session is planned for walk-ins (no appointment required) on March 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Limited appointments are available and can be scheduled by calling 570-321-5544; taxpayers should bring proper identification, required forms (W-2s, 1099s, etc.), Social Security cards, banking information and receipts to document any deductions.

For more information about accounting and related majors, visit www.pct.edu/accounting or call 570-327-4505.

For more about the college, which is celebrating its Centennial throughout 2014, visit www.pct.edu, email [email protected] or call toll-free 800-367-9222.

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