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Oakwood Open Campus High School

	1560 Joyner Ave. Marietta, Georgia 30060	Telephone: 678 - 594 - 8240 Fax: 678-594-8241
		Guidance: 678 - 594 - 8242

Tax Center

Información española

OAKWOOD TAX CENTER

Currently, Oakwood is the only Georgia high school to host a Vita site.

Tax Center is now accepting appointments.

For the sixth consecutive year, Oakwood High School has, in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, offered free tax assistance to the community. Through the IRS Volunteer income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, students complete and electronically file individual tax returns for school staff, students, and members of the community.

Mr. Devault is the tax program coordinator

at Oakwood. Seven years ago, with the assistance of colleague Mrs. Mooney (Oakwood Graduation Coach), Mr. Devault explored the possibility of creating a school-based program to offer tax help to Oakwood students and to the general public. The VITA program allows for community organizations to partner with the IRS by offering free help to tax payers in low to moderate income brackets ($40,000 or less) who struggle with tax returns. The existing tax program at Oakwood is incorporated into a course entitled Business Procedures. Students who serve as tax preparers must be fully certified by passing an exam on tax law. Students also fill roles as office managers who arrange appointments, field phone calls, file paperwork, act as interpreters/translators, and assist with tax center marketing. Students also assist in caring for young children of clients while tax returns are being prepared.

On average, the free tax service at Oakwood saves taxpayers approximately $100-150, the cost of having returns filed by a professional tax service. Returns are prepared using the soft- ware package TaxWise, which the IRS provides along with training materials, online tutorials, and student textbooks. Clients may either pick up their returns the following day or wait on campus for them to be prepared. Returns may even be filed electronically. Currently, about 68 students over the past four years have served tax center volunteers and are responsible for the completion of over 700 returns for local community taxpayers. Many of these are from repeat clients or from community members referred to the tax center by previous clients. The Oakwood Tax Center has also been featured in articles published in the Marietta Daily Journal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Mundo Hispanico, Atlanta’s premier paper for Hispanics. It is also featured on the Internal Revenue Service Website.

Oakwood’s Tax Center will be open beginning Ferbuary 4, 2008 and runs through April 15, 2008. For more information, contact Mr.Devault or one of the center volunteers at:

Oakwood High School - Room 302

1560 Joyner Ave.

Marietta, GA 30060

(678)-594-8240 ex. 249

2007-08 Tax Center Student Volunteers

Shawn Burge, Adrienne Baker, Arnold Camarena, Daslande Delice, Spencer Hardy, Chandler Leaks, Byran King, Mat McGuire, Yolanda Morales, Adrielly Rodrigues, German Sanchez, Sasha Storey, and Yolanda Valdovinos

Celebrating Over Twenty-five Years of Educating Students

District Home Page - http://www.cobbk12.org

http://www.cobbk12.org/legal.htm

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