Front Range Community College students, volunteers and staff donated their time to helping others with their taxes. The program resulted in more than $1.1 million in federal and state tax refunds for residents who make less than $60,000 annually.
The community college began its Tax Help Colorado program in 2007. Each year volunteers from the school provide free tax assistance.
“The service is designed to help hard-working families become more financially secure by providing free tax preparation assistance,” a news release from FRCC states.
In 2023, 20 students in the accounting program volunteered for the program — twice the number of volunteers from 2022. An additional 11 community volunteers also contributed — many of whom were prior students, the news release states.
“The program also helps students develop customer service skills, achieve practical, hands-on experience and earn college credits,” said accounting faculty Kevin McFarlane.
Tax services in Colorado range in price but the average fee is around $200. Not only does the free service offset those costs, but volunteers are trained to find additional credits for families that can result in up to $6,935 back in their pockets.
This year, volunteers completed 622 tax returns and the average income of the clients was $31,349.
“We love being able to provide this learning opportunity for our students and an important service to our community,” said FRCC President Colleen Simpson, EdD. “Our accounting faculty members put in a lot of hours to give their students this hands-on work experience, and they making sure the volunteers are well trained to help the people in our area who need it most.”
