Wilmington College tax prep program ends early

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WILMINGTON — Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) at Wilmington College is suspended for the remainder of the 2019 tax return season.

Allen Beatty, CPA and assistant professor of accounting and IRS Enrolled Agent/Site Manager, made the difficult decision.

“After much consideration we decided to close VITA for the remainder of the season because of the college closure,” he explained, via social media.

“We want to allow adequate time for students to catch up on studies when we do return, which may be very extensive with this closure. We also want to allow the public to have adequate time to find another tax service,” stated Beatty.

This year, the student volunteers of the VITA program at Wilmington College have already filed 141 tax returns, with zero rejections. Beatty reports they were on pace to complete 100 additional returns.

In recent years, VITA program volunteers have completed over 400 tax returns for area residents.

In 2019, the students secured a 100 percent IRS rating in completing 205 tax returns — free of charge — as a community service that gives the accounting and business majors, and other students involved, a valuable hands-on learning opportunity.

The expected exponential spread of COVID-19 has caused many Ohio colleges and universities to suspend classes or move to online instruction indefinitely. Wilmington College announced Tuesday evening that the Wilmington campus will be suspending all activities for a period of two weeks beginning 8 a.m. on Monday, March 16.

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