Taxes can be ugly and intimidating for those who don't have an understanding of how it's done, like high school students.

But teens at Northridge High School in Davis School District are facing the challenge head on and helping low-income families in the community file their taxes at no cost.

Teens doing taxes may raise a few eyebrows. But make no mistake — these students are trained and certified tax preparers who served more than 60 families in the first three days of offering the service.

Jennifer Morgan, business teacher and program supervisor, said Northridge is the only school in the state with a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site.

Now in its second year, more than 25 students have earned certifications.

They learn the ins and outs of tax preparation on training software provided by the IRS. They are required to study a number of different tax scenarios, memorize which forms go with given situations, complete practice returns and then pass with 80 percent or better on a computerized test to become a preparer.

Morgan said last year Northridge was the No. 1-rated VITA site in the state — out of 211 returns filed, only nine came back that had issues, and usually those were due to the information provided by the client.

She said a big draw for the students to become certified is the chance to serve the community.

"A lot of the people come in and are not very sophisticated in the world of finance, and some don't know and don't get the credit they can get — the kids understand how to help them," Morgan said. "Plus it saves them money in having them prepared."

But what the students get out of it is equally valuable.

"They walk away with a huge understanding of taxes and how that works and also gain a huge appreciation for diversity in the community," Morgan said. "They are working with people where there are communication barriers, disabilities and with different economic statuses — kids get a huge appreciation from other groups of people that are different from them."

She said the experience also instills in them a sense of work ethic.

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"We tend to spoon-feed in the education system, but with this, they can't be spoon-fed," Morgan said. "They have to pass the test and problem solve as well as learn how to handle privacy issues — they are handling people's lives."

The Northridge VITA site is open Tuesday through Thursday, 1 to 5 p.m., and serves low- to moderate-income individuals and families earning less than $30,000 a year, including students. A business instructor checks each return before it is filed to ensure there are no mistakes.

The site is open until April 15.


E-mail: terickson@desnews.com

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