With tax day rapidly approaching, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program offers income-tax assistance to students and low-income individuals free of charge.

Volunteers at the sites prepare basic income-tax returns and file them electronically for non-English speakers, the elderly and people with low incomes and disabilities.

Taylor Seiling, VITA volunteer and president of Financial Occupations Club for University Students in Madison, said the service is beneficial to those seeking assistance with their taxes.

“The key to the service is we provide what you get at H&R Block, but we save [people] the fee in that sense,” Seiling said.

University of Wisconsin consumer science professor Dr. Michael Gutter said VITA filed about 3,800 tax returns and saved customers roughly $800,000 in tax-preparation and e-filing fees in 2004. He explained that individuals saved money because VITA was able to expedite the time it took for individuals to receive their tax returns to pay their bills.

Currently, VITA employs students, retirees and many other community members as volunteers. Seiling said prospective business and personal-finance majors are encouraged to volunteer at VITA, not only to gain professional experience, but also customer-service skills.

Gutter said students involved in his Service Learning class through the School of Human Ecology who volunteered at the VITA center were able to take what they learned in class and help the community. He added it is important for prospective business and financial students to take advantage of various volunteer opportunities.

“I think all the programs we have to offer are really neat because most of the time, students do not realize the value of what they are learning,” Gutter said. “Through these opportunities, we make their skills an expertise of what they are learning.”

Seiling described the three-step process to expect when arriving at VITA. He said taxpayers must first check in to provide volunteers with their pertinent information. Next, the individual is called to a computer, where a volunteer runs over his or her federal and state returns. Finally, volunteers double check details on the individual’s report.

Seiling said depending on the complexity of the taxpayer’s situation and the length of the line, the service can take between 30 minutes and two hours.

UW students paying taxes in Wisconsin are encouraged to use the service. Seiling said anyone seeking assistance at VITA should bring his or her checkbook and bank account information for quicker service.

Gutter added that the FOCUS counseling center in the UW Office of Financial Aid is open to give financial-advising students the chance to help fellow students with their financial issues, free of charge.

Seiling said volunteers take an eight-hour training informational session on the basics of tax law and then learn new software. The more students volunteer, the better acquainted they become with the software and tax-filing process, Seiling said.

VITA works in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Wisconsin and is located at 2300 S. Park St.