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SPOKANE, Wash. – For the third year in a row, Gonzaga Â鶹¹ÙÍø accounting students working with the IRS and United Way have helped generate more than $1 million in refunds through their free income tax return preparation efforts for low- and middle-income Spokane residents. Students from Eastern Washington Â鶹¹ÙÍø and Whitworth Â鶹¹ÙÍø joined the efforts.

For this year’s filing season, the United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, which was staffed by 84 IRS-certified Zags, filed 840 electronic and paper returns and generated $1.04 million in total refunds. Last year’s efforts resulted in the filing of 813 returns generating more than $1.08 million in refunds. This year’s effort included a total of more than 971 hours of volunteer service by GU students to a total of 981 clients.

VITA provides Gonzaga students the opportunity to put into action many of the concepts they learn in class while providing a community service. Many VITA clients would have had difficulty obtaining much-needed refunds if such services were not offered. To volunteer, Gonzaga students attended two full days of training over a holiday weekend and then passed a certification exam.

For more information, please contact Andrew Brajcich, assistant professor of accounting at Gonzaga, at brajcich@gonzaga.edu or (509) 313-7053.