What: The WNMU School of Business Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which provides free income tax preparation assistance to low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited English-speaking taxpayers. Families and individuals with an income of $57,000 or less are eligible, as are those 65 years or older.

In 2020, seven WNMU students and student manager Paige Pinto volunteered nearly 600 hours over nine weeks to prepare and file a total of 260 federal returns and 259 state returns. Federal refunds totaling $270,943 and state refunds totaling $63,364 were returned to the community. Included in this total were Earned Income Tax Credits of $60,172, and Education Credits of $19,129. According to local information indicating an average cost of $150 to file a single tax return, so the value of the services provided by WNMU students equates to a savings of preparation fees estimated to be around $92,050.

Additional details are available at https://sb.wnmu.edu/tax. 

Who: The WNMU School of Business provides this community assistance. Student volunteers, led again this spring by MBA student Paige Pinto, work with members of the public to prepare and file returns. All the volunteers are required to become certified through the advanced IRS certification exam and obtain dedicated knowledge of tax laws for each given year. Silver City CPA Linda McGee initiated the VITA program at WNMU in 1982. Today, WNMU continues VITA under the guidance of WNMU Professor of Accounting Laurie Barfitt and in coordination with Tax Help New Mexico Director Jeffery Ledbetter.

When: Services will be offered on a walk-in basis on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Call 575-538-6637 to schedule a drop off.

Where: Returns will not be prepared in-person. Instead, taxpayers may drop off their tax forms at Light Hall Room 124, and students will complete the returns independently.

How: The VITA program at WNMU will operate with the same healthy and safety protocols that were in place last year, including exclusively offering drop-off/pick-up service and following university practices protocols like indoor mask wearing to minimize transmission of the coronavirus.

Clients must bring:

• Photo ID;
• Original Social Security Card(s) for taxpayers and dependents;
• Tax forms, such as W-2s/1099s/1099-SA from all employers;
• Proof of applicable tax-deductible expenditures;
• Bank account & routing numbers or, preferably, a voided check; and
• Mask(s) to be worn indoors on the WNMU campus.