UTEP Students Provide Free Tax Prep Services through Project VITA
Taxpayers can get help through April 11 at the Sun Bowl Stadium
EL PASO, Texas (Feb. 19, 2025) – The University of Texas at El Paso has once again partnered with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), a program providing free tax preparation for underserved populations and real-world tax experience for students.
This year marks the tenth year that VITA and UTEP have been in partnership. Run as an independent study course for students, mainly accounting majors, the program provides tax preparation to qualifying families in order to increase economic independence and quality of life in the Paso del Norte Region.
“It’s an honor for UTEP to participate in a program that helps our region so much and that is also a transformative experience for our students,” said Sarah Robertson, assistant professor of accounting and information systems. Robertson has been running the UTEP tax preparation site for three years.
This year, VITA will be helping taxpayers at the GECU Terrace at UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium, as well as other locations around El Paso.
The program, funded by a grant from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and administered by GECU, helps prevent fraud and ensures taxpayers receive accurate returns. The IRS provides training for volunteers, ensuring quality tax returns.
“Last semester while I was taking Professor Robertson's federal income tax course, she told us about the VITA program, which offers course credit hours,” said accounting senior Mario Monroy Jr. “It’s a great thing to add to your resume since you are gaining experience doing others' taxes.”
According to Robertson, the program completed 13,434 tax returns in 2023, saving the community $27.8 million in tax preperation fees. UTEP’s site alone filed 202 returns.
UTEP is the only site in El Paso certified to help non-resident foreign scholars such as international students and researchers who are unable to use standard tax software such as TurboTax due to their residency status.
Student volunteer Eduardo Torres, accounting senior, said joining the program and helping the community has been one of the highlights of his semester.
“One of my cousins was the victim of a predatory tax preparer, and the whole ordeal caused her a significant amount of stress,” he said. “The VITA program provides a vital service to the people most vulnerable to these predatory tax preparers, and we strive to give our clients the best service possible.”
VITA’s services are available to individuals whose annual income falls below $65,000 and do not own virtual assets such as bitcoin. No appointments are required, and walk-ins are welcome on a first come, first served basis. Returns are prepared, reviewed and e-filed on-site in a process that can take between 60 to 90 minutes.
Project VITA provides protection for taxpayers from fraudulent and exploitative practices by people who don’t really understand the tax system, Robertson said. The opportunity for future financial professionals to gain real-world experience is an added bonus.
“My students go from learning accounting in a textbook to suddenly using what they’ve learned to help people,” she said. “That’s when they realize, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”
The UTEP location is open on the following days:
GECU Terrace at the UTEP Sun Bowl Stadium
2701 Sun Bowl Dr., 3rd Floor
El Paso, TX 79902
January 24 - April 11
Fridays: 1 - 4 p.m.
(Closed February 28, March 14 and 28)
International students only: March 21, April 4 and 11
For more information, including what to bring during a visit, go to freetaxeselpaso.org/locations.
About The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is America’s leading Hispanic-serving university. Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, where three states and two countries converge along the Rio Grande, 84% of our 25,000 students are Hispanic, and more than half are the first in their families to go to college. UTEP offers 171 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.
Last Updated on February 19, 2025 at 12:00 AM | Originally published February 19, 2025
By MC Staff UTEP Marketing and Communications
