Free Tax Help

October 2, 2015

Thanks to Armando Martinez-Lopez, ’12, low-income families received free tax preparation help—and saved more than $200,000—with 150 tax returns last spring through a volunteer program at the Monument Crisis Center in Concord. Martinez-Lopez, who returned to Saint Mary’s for his master’s in accounting in July, had done volunteer tax assistance through an SMC accounting class. Once working at the center after graduation, he arranged for SMC students to be certified in tax preparation and come help with returns.

The volunteers, who included CPAs and students from other schools, helped families receive tax refunds and also saved them money in tax preparation fees. “I had one client who said she was charged $200 and all she had was a W-2,” said Martinez-Lopez, who will offer the free program next year. “People already come to our family resource center for food and other services, so there is an immense amount of trust.”