The mere mention of tax season can induce anxiety in most taxpayers, but a few economics majors are stepping in to alleviate those worries and gain hands-on experience by volunteering as tax assistants. Through the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), these students get to work with real-world clients to prepare their taxes for them.
“I was aware of the tax-assistance programs that are offered at CVOEO, so I connected with them about eight years ago,” says Jane Knodell, Ph.D, professor of financial history and economics in the Department of Economics. The CVOEO was really interested in getting more volunteers, and the program grew from there.
Knodell teaches an internship class for economics majors every other year. Students from that class who intern with CVOEO receive three credits for 10 hours of volunteer work per week plus classroom work. In the off years, economics students may still volunteer with CVOEO and receive one credit for about four hours of work per week. “Our students provide very meaningful assistance to local residents of modest means,” Knodell says, adding that they learn not only about both the federal and state tax systems but also about the realities of making ends meet on a limited income.
Ally Tocchio, a second-year economics major, currently participates in the program. “It was a perfect choice for me because I wanted to be more active within the economics department and utilize their connections with such programs,” she says. She adds that she also wanted to become more involved in the local community and use her skills to directly help Vermonters economically.
According to Mike McClintock, the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site coordinator at CVOEO, the organization has been offering free tax assistance since 1980 through the IRS’s VITA program. He’s been in his role for the past nine years, during which students from Champlain College, Saint Michael’s College, and UVM (from both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Grossman School of Business) have been participating. “Students generally make up at least half of our volunteers,” McClintock says. “We couldn’t do anywhere near what we do without them. They’re essential.”
In 2023 alone, the volunteers prepared more than 1,400 returns through the CVOEO program. This added up to more than $1.6 million in refunds—a record year—for a client base with an average annual gross income of about $23,000. “These refunds are what get many of our clients through the year,” McClintock says. Earned income credits also accounted for about $540,000 back to those clients. “You can see by these numbers this program is really impacting people’s lives.”
Every January, McClintock holds a two-day training at Champlain College for all participating students. “We get into the tax software and actually use it,” he says. He then hosts a two-hour one-on-one training with each new student during which they actually prepare his return and really get into the details.
McClintock continues to interact with the students a great deal beyond the training. “Every return that’s done, whether I do it or they do it, has to be reviewed,” he says. He also sets up their schedule with them. “When they’re here, I’m here, except for nights and weekends, when someone else takes over my role,” he says.
“Students are often nervous for their first few returns,” McClintock says. “It might take an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, even for a simple return, but that same return at the end of the year takes them 20 to 30 minutes.” He adds that it’s about getting comfortable with the whole process, getting a little confidence built up, and then getting more familiar with the software. “You see that progress every year. They do an awesome job,” he says.
“Through this program, I certainly work with a large variety of clients in all different financial situations,” Tocchio says. “It’s nice to engage with members of the community and learn about the reality of living in Vermont from all perspectives.”
McClintock says that’s one of the great things about this program for the students. “I think their eyes are opened to a lot of things,” he says. They learn the tax system, but they’re also interacting with a diverse public, which encourages them to build their interpersonal skills.
Knodell adds that it’s excellent practice for being a professional out in the world. “I think it helps the students project themselves beyond graduation and start to really think about what they want to do with their professional lives. I’ve had some of them say they help their friends with their income taxes now. I love that,” she says.
“It has been an amazing real-world, hands-on experience that I wouldn’t have been able to gain from a lecture,” Tocchio says. She now has a lot more confidence in helping herself and others around her economically and financially. “Working with CVOEO has been great,” she says. “Everyone in the program is extremely friendly and helpful.”
Knodell reiterates that the program connects students to the economic realities in the community, increasing their awareness of distributional issues, the problems of people not making a livable wage, and the pressure that high rents and housing costs put on people’s budgets. “I think it can be a transformational experience for the students,” she says. “Their horizons are expanded, but they’re also feeling good that they’ve helped somebody in a meaningful way.”