Carlson Students Volunteer to Provide Free Tax Services

Tax season is hardly anybody’s favorite time of year. However, some Carlson School of Management students are helping the process go more smoothly by volunteering at free tax clinics.

Non-Resident Volunteer Tax Assistance Program (NRVTAP) is a student organization consisting of student-volunteers from across the University of Minnesota who work with trained tax professionals, partnering with the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. NRVTAP offers free tax clinics primarily serving the University’s international community, but others can attend as well.

“Taxes are usually not on everyone’s mind until they have to file,” says Carlson School senior Sorin Truong, NRVTAP’s vice president of administration. “At NRVTAP, we know people are busy, and we can support you through this process. Because with taxes, gathering the documents is half the battle and the other half is making sure you enter it in correctly. If you finish half the battle, we’ll help you finish the rest of it.”

Truong, who is double-majoring in Accounting and Management Information Systems, has been volunteering with NRVTAP since her first year at the Carlson School. NRVTAP’s extensive volunteer training gave her the skills to work with real-life clients.

“You don’t realize how important this service is until you’re at the clinic and there are 20 people waiting outside, eager to come in because they have to do their taxes,” Truong says. “We see a lot of international students, researchers, and professors come in because the U.S. tax system is pretty different compared to other countries.”

While NRVTAP originated to serve non-residents in the University’s international community, the group now also trains volunteers to help with residents’ taxes. This year, NRVTAP has 16 volunteers and is offering 12 in-person clinics at the Carlson School as well as one at the University of Minnesota Duluth. NRVTAP volunteers can also provide their services in tax clinics hosted by Non-Resident Tax Help Group (NoRTH), a broader organization based in the Twin Cities. That opportunity includes online tax clinics that serve people across the country.

Abby Poser, a Master of Accountancy student at the Carlson School, is volunteering with NRVTAP for the first time this spring. She says the volunteer work has helped her instantly apply what she’s learned in her Fundamentals of Federal Income Tax course.

“It’s a great way for me to solidify my understanding and retain that knowledge,” she says. “In a tax clinic, everybody has a unique situation, whether that’s in terms of their income or deduction or their residency status. It’s really important to be able to interpret an individual’s situation and then be able to correctly apply that to the Internal Revenue Code and their specific tax situation.”

Both Poser and Truong say they’ve seen firsthand the positive impact of NRVTAP’s services.

“A lot of college students can’t afford a tax service or might not even know where to find that help,” Poser says. “So, I think it’s really important that that presence is right here on campus to make it accessible and easy for our students and University community.”