Iowa State University students are offering free tax preparation services to the public this tax season through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
The program helps individuals with limited incomes, people with disabilities, older adults and new taxpayers to the United States. The student volunteers are IRS-certified and provide free basic income tax return preparation, including electronic filing.
Chris Moon, accounting Executive Advisory Council faculty, said the program benefits Ames and surrounding communities beyond tax preparation.
“It provides them with the comfort of knowing that their taxes are prepared and filed by certified experts, along with the relief that they do not have to do their own tax return,” Moon said. “We are also building relationships between the students and the community with this program.”
Sekar Raju, Gary and Margaret Pint, faculty fellow and chair of the department of marketing, said the VITA program gives students real-world experience beyond what they learn in the classroom.
“Over the course of the tax season, students become familiar with different types of tax returns (resident, non-resident) and handle a variety of incomes, deductions and exemptions,” Raju said. “This experience goes well beyond the classroom and provides our students with confidence that they can handle tax filing on their own.”
Zoe Stonebraker, a master’s of accountancy student specializing in financial reporting and assurance, said working with real taxpayers has changed her confidence as an accounting student.
“I have gotten to practice explaining tax concepts to clients and also having moments of uncertainty where I need to ask someone else for help,” Stonebraker said. “Being in this environment has really helped me to apply concepts from my classes as a student into real-life applications, which has been amazing.”
Moon later described what success looks like for this program at ISU each year.
“For us, success is serving at least as many community members as we did last year and hopefully more,” Moon said. “We have gone from preparing around 250-300 returns a year to almost 1800 in 2025. The students feel like they have succeeded by providing this service to so many members of the community and the ISU family.”
Raju also said participating in the VITA program helps students prepare for careers in accounting and other business fields.
“The experience with VITA allows students to show potential employers that they have experience with filing taxes and are knowledgeable about tax laws,” Raju said. “This sets them apart from others who have not had this experience.”
Stonebraker explained the skills she learned through the tax clinic that she may not have learned in the classroom.
“The main skill that I have gained through the tax clinic is client management skills. In the tax clinic, you spend a lot of time one-on-one with taxpayers, working to understand their tax situation,” Stonebraker said. “It is important to have clear communication and maintain professionalism. At the same time, it has been enjoyable to get to chat with and get to know the clients who come into the clinic.”
For more information, visit the VITA 2026 website.
