Students in the Heider College of Business help individuals in Omaha file their tax returns each year through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Creighton has been partnered with VITA for over 50 years. 

Beginning on Jan. 28 and continuing through the end of March, the College of Business will host a total of six clinics. Students volunteer as a preparer, preparing people’s tax returns, or as a reviewer, reviewing the tax returns that have been prepared to look for errors. Preparers must pass IRS certification exams and be in the Principles of Taxation class, and reviewers are all volunteers who have worked as preparers in the past.  

During the clinics, people who make under $60,000 a year are able to walk in without an appointment and get help filing their taxes. 

 “I think the main mission is to just help people who need the help,” said graduate student Kellan Ryan, a student coordinator. “A lot of people who have lower income can’t afford to pay for tax services, but it’s a service that they need, so we’re sort of there to help fill the gap in the Omaha community for people who can’t pay to have their taxes done or don’t have the expertise to do it.” 

Another student coordinator, senior Micah Navarro, thinks the program is beneficial for the student volunteers in addition to the clients. “It’s good to learn stuff in the classroom, but also applying it to real world scenarios can help them to understand the concepts and really connect you to the community,” Navarro said.  

So far the clinics have had about 200 clients, and they are expecting the amount of people at upcoming clinics to increase as the tax deadline approaches, according to Ryan.  

On Feb. 4, 11 students and one faculty advisor traveled to the Winnebago Reservation of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and held a VITA clinic there as one was simultaneously being held on campus.  

“There’s a few different tax laws regarding Native American taxes, so to learn that part of tax law was really interesting,” senior Nathan Schumacher, a student coordinator, said. “[It was] just as rewarding as the Omaha clinics, but just provided a different perspective, because you’re working with a little bit of a different tax law.” 

The next VITA clinic will be held on Saturday in the Mike and Josie Harper Center ballroom. 

“I think it’s a great combination for both the preparers and clients who are receiving the services, because we get to apply things that we learned in class to a real life setting and we get to help others in the process. So, I think it’s a really valuable service that Creighton puts on,” Ryan said. “We do our best to have a consistent service throughout the year and help as many people as we can.”