Missouri Southern business students joined the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program to assist the community with painless income tax preparation.

My husband and I gathered our meager tax records, including last year’s return, and set out last Saturday to give the devil his due.

We arrived around noon, signed in and filled out the preliminary paperwork. It was a simple form, easily understood, and it took very little time to complete. The waiting area had only a half dozen groups ahead of us.

Dr. Dave Smith, professor of accounting, who supervised the student tax preparers, said business for VITA has increased 300 percent over last year, which was the first year Southern participated.

His students have been seeing many Southern staff but are a little surprised at the low number of students who have taken advantage of the free service, he said.

The current operation is functioning at near capacity for the number of volunteers they have.

The program will either need more students signing up to help next year or will have to extend hours or require scheduled appointments.

Smith said the biggest hindrance to a painless tax prep experience is incomplete documentation. Potential clients most often forget the following important facts:

• Social Security card is needed for every person on the return

• Both persons must be present for joint returns

• Photo ID must be shown.

Without these items, potential clients must be turned away.

We shared our wait with Claude and Judy Divine, a senior couple who traveled from Diamond, Mo., to take advantage of the service.

“I think it’s a good service,” said Claude Divine. “It’s helpful. It saves folks like us … tax prep used to be a pretty reasonable service and now they’re several hundred dollars, so that’s a pretty good savings; every little bit helps out.”

Volunteers are junior and senior accounting majors who have enrolled to participate in the VITA program. All have passed three required Internal Revenue Service tests.

Our tax preparer, Breanne Poynter, and our tax prep reviewer, Sarah Pekarek, were both senior accounting majors. Smith said he hopes in upcoming years, more underclassmen will participate.

We thought it was an unexpected bonus that the return was reviewed by a second person before it was filed. It really made me feel this was a serious professional service.

“I can see where it would be good training for business accounting students,” said Claude Divine.

Our forms were e-filed and we were out the door in less than three hours. Clients may have their refunds deposited to their accounts if they bring a blank deposit slip.