Many Oregonians qualify for free help preparing their income tax return, thanks to the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
The program partners with local organizations to offer assistance with trained volunteers for people who meet any of a handful of criteria.
"We strive to serve any individuals and families with income of $67,000 or less,” said Shelly Krehbiel, VITA program manager for Oregon State University. “We also have a strong focus on folks who have English as a second language or have accessibility issues to getting their taxes done, including rural folks with lack of internet access or students who might be filing their taxes for the first time."
Among the people helping through the OSU program is Lexi Rusk, a senior political science major who learned about the program from her roommate.
“It’s about a month’s worth of training,” she said. “They come in once a week, we go through a lecture, do examples together and there’s a few different tests that volunteers have to take. Each week it gets a little bit more difficult. And a big part is we host interactive demonstrations.”
Oregon State provides help at sites in Corvallis, Eugene and Bend. Other groups also offer VITA assistance in Roseburg and Redmond. Further details on where sites are located can be found through the IRS’ free tax assistance locator website.
Most sites require reservations, and the IRS offers a list of documents that those seeking assistance in filing should bring with them.
