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Program aids foreign students with taxes

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program has been offered to the University’s international students since 1998 when the school was approved as a VITA site and will help them again this semester with their taxes.

The program provides free assistance to international students who are required to file an income tax return.

“This is an extremely valuable service to our foreign national community,” Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Administration Diane Murphy said.

UH Tax Director Keith Gernold said UH has the 24th-largest national community in all of the U.S., and students have greatly benefited from the program.

Every Saturday, beginning Feb. 27 and continuing through April 10, students can make an appointment in the Bayou City Room (No. 202) in the University Center. Appointment times will be available between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Gernold said most of the people helping in the VITA program are volunteers. Some of them will come from the C.T. Bauer College of Business and some from the Houston CPA Society, which works closely with the Internal Revenue Service.

All volunteers will be trained under the guidance of certified public accountants. Rhett Buck, a Houston CPA and tax attorney, will coordinate them.

“(Last year), 59 volunteers helped individuals in preparing over 236 tax returns, as well as reviewing over 60 tax returns,” Gernold said.

Gernold said they expect more people to take advantage of the program this year. He also said international students from other universities have been known to take advantage of UH’s VITA program.

This may be because UH is the only tax assistance site inside the city limits that is able to do tax returns for international students solely.

Students need to bring their passport, any records of income and expenses and immigration documents such as forms I-20 or DS-2019. If W-2, 1042-S or 1099 forms are applicable, those will also be needed.

The VITA program, which is sponsored by the Houston Asset Building Coalition, works in partnership with the Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office.

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