The CSUN VITA Clinic

The CSUN VITA Clinic will resume operations in January 2024!

Serving the public since 1970, CSUN VITA Clinic is a cost-free income tax assistance service to low-income residents in the San Fernando Valley and beyond. Our goal is to provide outstanding free tax preparation service to low-income taxpayers in our community and to provide our students with a quality experiential learning experience in the field of taxation.

CSUN VITA Clinic provides cost-free income tax assistance to low-income residents.

The CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked as the largest serving free tax preparation clinic in California in 2021 and the largest academic institution nationally offering free tax preparation services. With the help of over 220 student volunteers, we have served through our virtual platform almost 6,000 low-income taxpayers in 2021. CSUN’s VITA Clinics are helping Californians qualify for the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC).

All services are by appointment only.

The best way to contact us is by emailing at or calling us at (818) 677-3600.

Check if you qualify!

Disclaimer: We recommend checking if you qualify before making an appointment. The VITA program has limitations that may prevent us from serving you.

Make an Appointment

If you would like to try finding other free tax preparation sites,
visit Free Tax Prep Help on the IRS website.

In the 2021 Tax Season, CSUN VITA Clinic hit one of its best-recorded rankings!

Specifically,

Los Angeles City: the CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked number 1 among 112 sites in Los Angeles County.
Southern California: the CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked number 1 among 642 sites in Southern California
California: the CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked number 1 in California
Nationwide: Ranked number 8 among 6,049 VITA sites
Among academic institutions nationwide, CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked number 1 among 339 VITA sites.

Enrollment in the CSUN VITA Clinic for the Spring of 2023 is now open. Please check back with us in November 2023 for more volunteer opportunities! Check out the students' tab on the left.

Under the supervision of experienced tax practitioners, trained and certified CSUN students provide free tax preparation services (federal and state) to eligible low-income taxpayers. Services are offered at the CSUN campus and several remote sites in the community beginning in late January through mid-April each year.

The CSUN VITA Clinic is sponsored by the Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation in the Department of Accounting & Information Systems at the David Nazarian College of Business & Economics. While supported by the IRS, the CSUN VITA Clinic is not part of or affiliated with the IRS.

The CSUN VITA Clinic does not discriminate against any person based on race, color, national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services, and activities, or employment. For further information about this policy, or if you need special accommodation for the services we provide, please contact us at least one week before your scheduled appointment at (818) 677-3600.

How Do I Know if I Am Eligible?

You may be eligible if you, and your spouse, earned a total gross income of less than $58,000 during the tax year and are a resident of Los Angeles County.

If you are an active-duty military or a veteran, the income threshold does not apply to you.

The following tax situations may disqualify you from our services:

Income from foreign sources, rental property, or Schedule K-1s
Married couples with no dependents filing separately
Registered domestic partners who want to file jointly
Specific business expenses:
- Business use of home
- Actual expenses for vehicles
- Employees
- Inventory and cost of goods sold
- Depreciation
- Businesses with a loss
- Any cancellation of debt where the taxpayer filed bankrupt or was insolvent immediately before the debt was canceled
- International students or nonresident aliens who:
  - Have dual-status citizenship
  - Income earned from a 1099-MISC, self-employment, gambling, or rent/royalties

While this list may not be inclusive, these are the more common scenarios that may disqualify most people from VITA services.

What Services Do We Exactly Offer for Tax Preparation?

We are able to prepare individual income tax returns for the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, including foreign student returns. We also serve active duty military and veterans.

Due to our limited capacity and the IRS is temporarily not accepting paper returns or correspondence, we are currently not offering the following services:

Tax returns prior to 2016

These services may be offered in the future depending on the operations of the IRS.

What Do I Need before I Make an Appointment?

For a smooth and efficient tax preparation process, we ask you to gather the following relevant documents prior to scheduling an appointment:

Proof of identification for you and/or your spouse

Both spouses must be present during the identity verification process of the tax return
For International Students, you will also need your Visa and I-9

Social Security cards or ITIN cards/letters for you, your spouse, and/or dependents

You may substitute this with a 1099-SSA, IRS transcript, or your prior year tax return done by CSUN VITA

Wage and income forms such as:

W-2 from employer(s) or W-2G Gambling Winnings
Forms 1099 from banks, 1099-B, issuing agencies and other payers including unemployment compensation (1099-G), dividends (1099-DIV), distributions from a pension, annuity or retirement plan.
Form 1099-K, 1099-MISC and a list of business expenses relevant to self-employment work, W-2 or other income statement for workers in the gig economy.
Form 1099-INT for interest received.
Other income documents and records of virtual currency transactions.
Cash

Information for other income
Form 1098-T Tuition Statement and any other educational expenses
Information for deductions

IRA contributions
1098-E Student Loan Interest
1098 Mortgage Interest
Real estate taxes
Charitable contributions/deductions

Amount paid to daycare provider and their tax ID number
Forms 1095-A (Health Insurance Marketplace Statement), B, or C for health coverage
Letter 6419, 2021 Total Advance Child Tax Credit Payments, to reconcile advance child tax credit payments.
Letter 6475, Your 2021 Economic Impact Payment, to determine eligibility to claim the recovery rebate credit.
Information to support claiming other credits or deductions, such as receipts for child or dependent care, college expenses or donations.
Copy of last year's tax return, if possible