AURORA | There’s more to being an accountant than crunching numbers and doing math.
A group of students from the Community College of Aurora’s School of Business is learning the personal part of the job during the 2013 tax season. For the seventh year in a row, students from the college are offering taxpayers free tax preparation assistance at the school’s Lowry campus. The campus is one of dozens of sites across the state participating in the Tax Help Colorado program, an initiative that launched at CCA in 2007 that’s provided millions of dollars in refunds to thousands of Colorado residents.
It’s what brought Leyla Perez to the college Feb. 8. As she waited for a final review of her documents, Perez said the offer of free tax assistance was a big help, especially as she continues a drawn-out job search.
“I didn’t know they did such a thing,” said Perez, who lives in Aurora. “I’m hoping that they’ll get back for me more than I would by myself.”
The tax assistance program, which runs until March 5 at the CCA Lowry campus, offers students firsthand accounting experience. All of the students have been certified by the IRS, and working with filers adds a personal dimension to the process.
“It’s probably one of the best opportunities that we offer for someone interested in pursuing taxation as a career,” said Mike Manaton, the department chair of the Community College of Aurora’s School of Business. “They get to have the experience of actually working with people and going through the process of interacting with them, educating them on how their taxes work.”
The benefits for those filing show in the numbers since CCA and the nonprofit Piton Foundation started the service for families with an annual household income less than $49,000 in 2007. Last year, volunteers helped more than 1,400 residents file for refunds totalling more than $2.8 million. Oversized checks hanging on the hallway wall at the CCA Lowry campus show similar totals from previous years. They’re made out to the “residents of Aurora,” and total more than $2.4 million in 2001, $2.3 million in 2010 and $1 million in 2009.
“This is the value-added piece,” said CCA President Alton Scales, who started in his position at the college last year. “When I first came here, I saw those checks on the walls … Those are all people who received a quality service for free. Our presence should be more in this community than just providing education.”
The model that launched in Aurora has spread across the state. This year, similar Tax Help sites are operating in Alamosa, Brighton, Commerce City, Denver, Trinidad and other areas in Colorado.
“The Community College of Aurora, but now we have 16 colleges across the state operating 27 free tax sites,” said Diane
DiGiacomo, spokeswoman for the Piton Foundation. She said the program stresses the availability of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, refunds available for those who make less than $50,000 and who have children at home. “They need those refunds for their basic needs.”
Filling those basic needs for the community drew residents, students and Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan during the Tax Help Colorado operating hours Feb. 8.
“This is one of the things that really keeps money in the community,” Hogan said. “It gets spent on groceries, it gets spent on diapers, it gets spent on stuff right here. Providing some support and encouragement is one of the things that I can do as mayor.”
The Tax Help Colorado assistance
Will run until March 5 at the Community College of Aurora Lowry Campus, 710 Alton Way in Denver.
Hours are 1 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays; 12 to 5 p.m. on Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays.