News Release| Volunteer Income Tax Assistance; Cal State L.A.

January 17, 2013

Free tax form prep at Cal State L.A. on Saturdays

CSULA VITA to host special family services event on Feb. 16

Los Angeles, CA – Beginning on Saturday, Jan. 26, the Cal State L.A. VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program will offer free income-tax preparation services to low- to moderate-income individuals ($50,000 or less) who need help preparing and filing tax returns. Language assistance in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Armenian and Russian will be available. 

VITA services, offered through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for the 2013 tax season will take place on the third floor of Salazar Hall, room 343, on the CSULA campus. It will operate on a first-come, first-served basis from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., every Saturday, from Jan. 26 through Apr. 13.  Appointments are not necessary.

Click here for a list of items taxpayers need to bring with them: /programs/vita/list.html.

In addition, Cal State L.A. VITA will offer Facilitated Self Assistance (FSA) services, where taxpayers will be able to prepare their own tax returns online with minimal supervision and guidance. There is a $57,000 income limitation for this internet-based program.

“The VITA program at Cal State L.A. can also assist with non-resident returns for foreign scholars and students, as well as tax returns for undocumented students and aliens,” said Dr. David Hossain, VITA site coordinator and associate professor of accounting at Cal State L.A. “In order to enhance the services offered here at CSULA, this year we will provide on-site Financial Awareness and Money Management Sessions in coordination with the CSULA Federal Credit Union and Wells Fargo. These sessions will be running concurrently alongside with the VITA and the FSA programs.”

On Saturday, Feb. 16, Cal State L.A. VITA will also partner with the California State Board of Equalization and the IRS to host a Free Income Tax Preparation and Family Services Event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Salazar Hall, room 343. The one-day event will feature access to free tax preparation assistance, low cost and free medical services, job preparation assistance, food and nutrition service, discount telephone service and low cost auto insurance.

Since 1998, the IRS and Cal State L.A. faculty have trained CSULA students to make a difference in their communities as part of the VITA program, while providing an excellent service-learning opportunity for the final-year accounting students. 

Free Income Tax Preparation and Family Services Event

When:   Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Where:  Salazar Hall 343, on the CSULA campus. Paid permit dispenser parking available. For campus map and directions: /univ/maps/.

Info:       Call (323) 318-4339 or go to /sites/default/files/vita.

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 225,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu