UPR’s Mayagüez campus resumes tax return filing service
The University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez campus’ Voluntary Taxpayer Assistance Center (VITA, in Spanish) has resumed its services to fill out the federal return for free, the School of Business Administration announced.
The service is offered in collaboration with student volunteers, professors and public accountants that are part of the western chapter of the Puerto Rico College of Certified Public Accountants.
The entity, which in recent years turned to virtual or hybrid services due to the pandemic, has reopened its doors to the public, which it will attend in person at its facilities, located in room 104 of the School of Business Administration. The VITA Center offers services Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 1 p.m.
“In this tax year, as part of the federal aid package for the COVID-19 pandemic, additional benefits will be granted to families in Puerto Rico with minors who are of limited or moderate income. Parents or guardians will receive a refundable credit of $3,600 for each infant under the age of six and $3,000 for each child between the ages of six and 17, subject to certain income limitations. Some 300,000 Puerto Rican families qualify and can claim this credit,” said David González-López, School of Business Administration Associate Dean of Research and initiative coordinator.
People must go to the Center, where they will receive guidance on the required documents and will be granted an appointment to assist them in completing the federal return.
“We’re supervised by the Internal Revenue Service. The filing is done electronically, and we have 17 students from the Accounting undergraduate program, as well as from other academic units who have received the proper training,” said the professor.
The VITA Center also provides services to federal employees, federal government retirees, as well as pensioners who receive Social Security and part of that income is taxed in the United States. In the case of federal employees, they must first file the state return, submit a copy of it already filed, as well as the federal return that was filed the previous year.
VITA Center services will run through April 18, 2022.
