The VITA Tax Program, Mr. Chris Van Duin’s accounting class, has been certified by the IRS and is on pace to perform 200 free tax returns for the Rancho Cucamonga community.

As of March 7, 2023, the students in the program have performed 115 fee tax returns. Last year in 2022, they performed 150 tax returns free of charge for the community.

“It’s cool, although it is kind of anxiety-inducing because so many people are relying on you to do their taxes, but overall it’s still pretty cool,” senior Danni-Lynn Stirling said. 

VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and it has been at Rancho Cucamonga High School for four years. The students are trained on and use the TaxSlayer software program to complete the returns, which is provided by the IRS.

“It’s been a wonderful experience,” Janell Ostrander, who has used the program for two years, said. “The students are very anxious to learn and they listen very closely to Mr. Van Duin and they seem interested in making sure they do it right and that makes me feel confident.” 

According to Van Duin, to become certified, students had to pass three certification exams, including ethics, intake process, and basic filing. The IRS provided students with a series of videos, and online lessons, and occasionally, IRS workers would visit to work with the students. 

“It feels good right now,” junior Liam Ross said. “I think I know more than most adults on taxes.” 

Community members are able to participate in this program free of cost. A link was sent on Parent Square and is on the school’s website to sign up for an appointment.

People who have an appointment can bring in their paperwork to room T103 with Van Duin. During the week, the students will do the returns in class. To verify the numbers were entered correctly, program participants will return the following Saturday, and finally, it will be filed. 

“[I am] proud of my students because it’s a lot of preparation and a lot of pressure for them once they realize that they are dealing with very valuable information for people and it determines for some of these people how much money they are getting back,”  Van Duin, accounting teacher said. “They’re counting on that and we don’t want to make mistakes.” 

One of many benefits of the VITA Tax Program, in addition to the free service it provides the community, is that students learn a skill that they can apply to their lives outside of school. 

“I think it’s good, for not only to do your own taxes and having the confidence to do that but maybe when you enter into the business world after you get out of high school, thats a great skill to have,” Ostrander said.