Tax season is here and Pitt Business undergraduate students, for the 20th year, are ready to help qualified income taxpayers with U.S. or international tax returns.

The David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business is leading the collaboration with the College of Business Administration finance and accounting students through Beta Alpha Psi.

Together, they are partnering with the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania to provide free assistance for the completion of 2021 tax returns. Qualified taxpayers include those with incomes under $57,000 per year. University students, employees, and area residents are encouraged to schedule an appointment. Details include:

Dates: February 4 through April 15, 2022

Location: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Classroom A, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh

Appointments: For face-to-face or drop-off, schedule by calling 211 or visiting pa211sw.org. For virtual help, go to GetYourRefund.org.

Tax Refunds for the Underserved

Since 2002, about 30-40 Pitt Business students have volunteered every year to support the Volunteer Tax Assistance Program (VITA), an IRS initiative to help the underserved through various partner organizations. In 2021, Pitt Business students generated nearly $400,000 in refunds to taxpayers, which was a $160,000 increase over the previous year.

Through its emphasis on experiential learning, this volunteer effort “challenges accounting students to consider the community impact of accounting while gaining experience in working with individual taxes,” said Jocelyn Carlin, the site coordinator and Pitt clinical associate professor of business administration. 

This program has broadened the Berg Center’s impact by including accounting faculty and students in a program that has a direct benefit to the residents from communities in and around the university’s Oakland campus as well as assisting our international population. 

For more information about the Berg Center’s role, contact Ingrid Gomez-O’Toole, the center’s program coordinator, ing7@pitt.edu, or Carlin, jcL2@pitt.edu.