Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Every year St. Mary s University operates a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site for the residents from the neighborhoods surrounding St. Mary s campus (other VITA sites are run by the City of San Antonio and other organizations). VITA provides free tax filing services to qualifying families that make less than $55,000 a year. St. Mary s VITA site is open to the entire community, but specifically targets residents on the Westside within the University s Neighborhood Revitalization area.

The VITA Program has been run by Tom Madison, Ph.D., CPA since 2006. The mix of volunteers that annually staffs St. Mary's VITA site includes students, faculty and staff from St. Mary s University s Bill Greehey School of Business, the School of Law, the graduate and undergraduate programs, St. Mary s alumni, community business leaders and volunteers from Wells Fargo. In 2011, 110 volunteers worked more than 3,000 hours and helped file 758 returns, which put just over $1.6 million back into the pockets of West Side citizens. If you are interested in volunteering in the VITA program, please contact vitavolunteer@stmarytx.edu.

The VITA site is at the St. Mary s Law School Center for Legal and Social Justice at 2507 NW 36th Street. In the spring of 2012, the St. Mary s site will be open from 9:00am - 4:00pm every Saturday from January 21st - April 14th. Returns are prepared on a first come, first served basis.

Taxpayers must bring the following with them:

• Driver s license or photo I.D. for the taxpayer
• Social Security Card or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for all household family members
• All W-2 Forms
• Other tax forms received, 1099s, year-end social security statements, etc. (if applicable)
• Copy of prior year tax return (if applicable)
• If filing jointly, your spouse must be present