Located on CSUN’s campus, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Clinic is one of 14 different locations throughout the Los Angeles area. The program offers a range of services, including tax preparation, amended returns, ITIN applications/renewals and back taxes dating back up to five years before the current year.
While VITA also has clinics located within the San Fernando Valley, Glendale, Hollywood and East Los Angeles, only the CSUN location offers services all year round. Off-campus locations are only available during tax season.
To qualify for these free services, the individual must be a resident of Los Angeles County and have earned a total gross income below $67,000. However, it is important to note that the income requirement does exclude active-duty military and veterans.

VITA Co-Coordinator Areli Araujo has been working for the program for nearly 10 years. According to Araujo, the VITA program provides free income tax preparation and assistance to all students attending CSUN.
“As we are a university, we are constantly keeping up to date with our tax knowledge,” she said.
Initially, the program focused on accounting and business majors but quickly branched out, reaching students throughout campus. The program’s services are available to students and all low-income community members.
“We always tell our CSUN students to ‘let your parents know, your friends know, your neighbors. Take advantage of these resources,’” Araujo said.
Adilene Macias, a senior at CSUN majoring in business management, has utilized the on-campus VITA services for two years. Macias was initially referred to the clinic by a family member and fellow student. She noted that the advertisements throughout campus further solidified her interest in taking advantage of these resources.

“It’s really convenient, especially if you’re a student here because the process only takes about an hour, and so it’s something really easy to do in between classes,” said Macias.
To make an appointment, those interested can visit the VITA website to access a list of available locations, dates and times or call the office directly. To confirm the appointment, students must present official identification, a Social Security number and/or individual taxpayer identification number, wage and income forms (i.e., W-2 or W-2G), bank information and any alternate forms of income or expenditures.