April 15’s tax deadline is rapidly approaching, but a group of students in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Kent State University are helping locals complete their annual returns.

Through the program, students enrolled in Special Topics in Accounting also earned their IRS certification to work as student volunteers this tax season.

“We’re doing a lot of pickups now,” said senior accounting major and VITA student volunteer, Danielle Bowyer. “All hands on deck to make sure everybody’s coming and reviewing so they can finalize their returns.”

Professor Mindy Nett, an associate professor, says there’s been an “amazing response this year” to the program. Last year, the team of volunteers helped file over 300 tax returns. This year, they are at 400 completed and counting.

The majority of their services aid international students, but U.S. students and local residents are also taking advantage of the program.

“We have a lot of retirees who I’ve been seeing year after year,” Nett said. “I recognize them when they come in.”

The VITA program operates as a drop-off service, where taxpayers can leave their documents with volunteers for review. The process takes about 20 to 30 minutes, after which the team will contact the taxpayer when their return is ready for pick-up.

Nicole Winter Ramos Pereira is a graduate student in economics from Brazil who dropped off her forms on Wednesday.

“I tried two times before this … but they were so packed that I had to go home,” Pereira said. “Thankfully, they had a spot today.”

Drop-in hours will wrap up on Friday, April 4, starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Crawford Hall Atrium. Alternatively, individuals can access online resources, such as the IRS Free File program, to complete their returns before the April 15 deadline.

KSTV’s Sydney Brown has more on the VITA program.