VITA Program

Domestic taxpayers (US Citizens or Green Card holders): Appointments are made online using a secure link which is emailed to you. We generally email new links each year to taxpayers who have visited our site in the past. If you did not receive a link and would like to request that we email you the link, please call (330) 941-2507.  

Personal documents - Bring all documents below:  

• Photo ID  
• Social Security Cards, Social Security Number verification letters, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number assignment letters for you, your spouse, and any dependents  
• IRS Pin if you had one in the past or if you received a letter with an IRS pin in November/December 2025
• Birthdates for you, your spouse, and dependents on the tax return  
• Bank account and routing number or a voided check for direct deposit of your refund (Please note that IRS now REQUIRES electronic deposits for refunds and electronic payments for taxes due).
• 2024 tax returns, if you have them  

Income - Bring all documents that apply from the list below:

Employment Income  

• W-2 form(s) for all jobs last year (your employer(s) will have sent you this by January 31st)  
• If you worked overtime, a copy of your final stub for 2025 showing amount of overtime paid

Self-Employment Income  

• 1099-NEC and/or 1099-K  
• Records of income not reported on 1099 forms  
• Records of expenses including receipts, credit statements, etc.  
• Record of estimated tax payments  

Records of Tip Income

Retirement Income  

• SSA-1099 form for Social Security benefits  
• 1099-R for pension/IRA/annuity income  

Unemployment Income  

• 1099-G for unemployment benefits  

Other sources of income  

• 1099-G for refund of state/local income taxes
• 1098-T for scholarships/fellowships  
• 1099-R for disability income  
• Income or loss from the sale of stocks, bonds, or real estate  
• Income or loss from rental property  
• Alimony received  
• Statements for prizes or lottery/gambling winnings  
• Interest and dividend statements from banks  
• Records for any other income  

Expenses - You may be able to claim tax deductions for some of the expenses you have. These deductions reduce the income you are taxed on. Bring documentation for all the following expenses you have:

• Retirement contributions, including a 401(k) or IRA  
• State and local taxes you have paid  
• Mortgage statements and property tax bills if you are a homeowner  
• College tuition (1098-T) and student loan statements (Form 1098-E)  
• Childcare expenses, including payment records or receipts and provider’s name, address, and federal tax ID number (either their Social Security Number or Employment Identification Number)  
• Receipts for charitable donations  
• Medical and dental bills  
• Records for supplies used as an educator
• Vehicle loan statement related to a NEW car purchase which took place in 2025, VIN for the new vehicle purchased after 12/31/2024 along with evidence that the vehicle’s final assembly took place in the United States (note that the vehicle must be new in all respects, not just new to you).
• Other Tax Documents or Notices  
• Form 1095-A - if you had coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace  
• Documents from the IRS, Health Insurance Marketplace, your state tax agency, or anything that says “IMPORTANT TAX DOCUMENT”

Please note that failure to bring all required documentation will prevent our program from being able to complete your 2025 income tax returns.

Domestic (U.S. citizens or green card holders): Our VITA program is located inside the Williamson College of Business Administration (WCBA) on the campus of YSU. Please come to the west entrance of the Williamson Hall building facing N. Hazel Street (You will see WILLIAMSON letters in front of the doors). Enter through the doors behind the letters and turn right. When you pass through the second set of doors, you will see the VITA registration tables in front of you to the right. Our address is 221 N. Hazel Street, Youngstown, Ohio 44503.

Non YSU employees and students will be given a parking permit allowing you to park for free in the parking lot owned by the Diocese of Youngstown (DOY) on the corner of W. Rayen and Elm Street (exactly 1 block to the west of our WCBA building and across from Subway). The lot is enclosed by metal chain link fencing. After receiving your parking permit, you will need to return to your vehicle to add the parking permit to your dashboard. This must be done to avoid receiving a parking ticket from the Diocese. Once you have placed the permit on your vehicle dashboard, you may return to the WCBA building atrium to wait for your return(s) to be prepared. All other available parking spaces other than the designated DOY lot require a parking fee on Fridays.

Please plan to spend approximately 2-3 hours in the atrium of Williamson Hall while we prepare your tax returns. It is possible that your appointment time could take longer if we are fully booked or if your tax return is more complex. Please also note that those with appointments scheduled ahead of yours could affect your appointment time as well since more complicated tax returns will take us longer to prepare. Please also keep in mind that students are preparing your tax returns, and our students are learning. This means that it will take them much longer to prepare your tax return than a commercial preparer (such as Tax 29 or H&R Block).

If you are unable to wait this amount of time to have your tax returns prepared, please consider other options. We love to help our community taxpayers, but our VITA staff is comprised of students and volunteers who are not experienced experts. As such, we may take longer to prepare a quality return for you as all tax returns are reviewed by more experienced volunteers after the students have completed the preparation of your returns.

We kindly ask that you plan to stay in Williamson Hall for the duration of time it takes us to prepare your returns. This allows us to have direct access to you for any questions we may have and will actually speed up the amount of time we must spend.

If you have an emergency and must leave, we ask that you take your tax return data with you and terminate your appointment as we do not have adequate storage facilities at the university to keep your data until you return.

If you need to cancel your appointment, we cannot guarantee that another appointment will be available, so please make sure to schedule your appointment for a date and time to which you can commit and for which you are certain to have all required tax documents ready. Please notify Nancy O’Hara at (330) 941-2507 if you are cancelling your appointment.

Please plan to arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your appointment time to check in and get settled. It is not necessary to arrive earlier.

The Internal Revenue Service requires that we have an original Social Security Card for every individual listed on the tax returns that we prepare. This is an IRS requirement which we cannot ignore. If you need to request a replacement card or update your Social Security record, please visit this website to find the best way to do this for you: Social Security Website for Lost or Stolen Cards 

The Internal Revenue Service requires that we verify the identities of the taxpayers we serve in order to cut on the incidence of identity theft. If you do not have a driver’s license, we can also accept:

• Employer ID
• School ID
• State ID (U.S.)
• Military ID
• National ID
• Visa
• Passport

Our VITA program is located on the 1st floor of Williamson Hall in the Atrium area. The Schwebel Café is located on the 1st floor as well just across from our VITA preparation room. The café offers house-made grab and go items, snacks, and a variety of fan favorite drinks from Nova Coffee for purchase. Hours of operation are 9am to 2pm.

There are vending machines available on the 1st floor as well in the same hallway as the Schwebel Café. We also have water fountains and restrooms available on the first floor. Williamson Hall is a smoke-free building.

YSU International Students:

Please note that if any of the following situations apply to you, you must use Sprintax for your filing requirement: 

• Stock transactions (i.e., you sold any stocks or bonds, or engaged in cryptocurrency transactions) – our software cannot handle these transactions for you and you must use Sprintax.
• You received a YSU housing scholarship – you will receive Form 1042-S through Sprintax and must use that software to prepare your tax return (fee required). 
• You are a YSU student athlete – please contact the Athletic department for assistance in acquiring and using Sprintax (if you need help).

If the above situations do not apply to you, please use the link in the email you received from YSU’s International Student Services office to make your appointment. Please note that we accept current YSU international students only, and only one appointment per student is permitted. You may NOT make appointments for your friends and you may only use the new link provided by the International Student Services office to make your appointment.

You must bring your PASSPORT, VISA, photo IDs and Social Security/ITIN cards to your appointment.  

Personal documents - Bring ALL documents below:  

• Photo ID  
• Social Security Cards, Social Security Number verification letters, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number assignment letters for you, your spouse, and any dependents  
• Birthdates for you, your spouse, and dependents on the tax return  
• Records of ALL dates of entry to and dates of exit from the United States (Form I-94)
• Date you first entered the United States (other than for tourism) – even if this date was prior to being a student at YSU
• Bank account and routing number or a voided check for direct deposit of your refund 

• 2024 tax returns, if you have them  

   

Income - Bring all the following documents that apply:

Compensation and Scholarships

• W-2 form(s) for all jobs last year (your employer(s) will have sent you this by January 31st)
• Form 1042 for any scholarships which covered room, board, meals, transportation (i.e., anything other than tuition, books and required classroom supplies) – VITA is not preparing tax returns which have a 1042-S – please plan to use Sprintax

Unemployment Income  

• 1099-G for unemployment benefits  

Other sources of income  

• 1099-G for refund of state/local income taxes
• * 1098-T for scholarships/fellowships  
• Income or loss from the sale of stocks, bonds, or real estate - YOU CANNOT HAVE VITA prepare your returns if you have these transactions – you must use Sprintax instead
• Statements for prizes or lottery/gambling winnings  
• Interest and dividend statements from banks  
•  Records for any other income  

Expenses - You may be able to claim tax deductions for some of the expenses you have. These deductions reduce the income you are taxed on. Bring documentation for all the following expenses you have:

• State and local taxes you have paid  
• College tuition (1098-T) and student loan statements (Form 1098-E)  
• Receipts for charitable donations to United States charities
• Other Tax Documents or Notices  
• Documents from the IRS, your state tax agency, or anything that says “IMPORTANT TAX DOCUMENT”

If you received a housing scholarship from YSU, you will receive a Form 1042-S through a program called SprinTax. You should also use SprinTax to prepare your tax returns (fee required). SprinTax also offers webinars to help you prepare your tax returns. Please contact the International Student Services office for more information and a list of available webinars for which you can register.

International student athletes should contact the Athletic department for assistance in acquiring and using Sprintax.

International students receiving income not tied to their education here in the United States are considered to have “Not Effectively Connected” income. This income is received in the United States and is taxable by the United States but is not directly related to your education here. In contrast, having an on-campus job or an internship is effectively connected to your education. While both types of income are taxable by the United States, the software have at VITA does not handle these transactions well. As a result, if you have dividends, stock sales, cryptocurrency transactions or gambling income, you must use Sprintax (fee required) to prepare your tax returns.

Youngstown State University International Students: Please come to the 3rd floor of Williamson Hall. Enter through the main doors to the faculty offices and turn left twice. The VITA appointment desk is located in Room 3324 (look for the VITA sign).

If you need to cancel your appointment, we cannot guarantee that another appointment will be available, so please make sure to schedule your appointment for a date and time to which you can commit and for which you are certain to have all required tax documents ready. Please notify Nancy O’Hara at (330) 941-2507 if you are cancelling your appointment.

Please plan to arrive approximately 5 minutes prior to your appointment time to check in and get settled. It is not necessary to arrive earlier.

Not all international students are required to have a Social Security Number; however, you are required to have one if you are employed. For questions about Social Security Numbers and (ITIN)'s, please visit this website: 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tins-for-foreign-students-and-scholars 

For more information about Social Security numbers and applying for one, please visit: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10181.pdf

The Internal Revenue Service requires that we verify the identities of the taxpayers we serve in order to cut on the incidence of identity theft. If you do not have a driver’s license, we can also accept: 

• Employer ID
• School ID
• State ID (U.S.)
• Military ID
• National ID
• Visa
• Passport 

In general, international students in the United States under an F-1, J-1, or M-1 visa who are working in an on-campus job or an internship related to their education are not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. Students should make sure that their employer is aware they are exempt from these taxes under Internal Revenue Code Section 3121(b)(19). If your employer still withholds these taxes in error, you may request a refund from your employer; however, be aware that many U.S. employers are unaware of these rules and may be unwilling to issue you a refund.

If they refuse to refund your taxes, politely request a letter from the employer stating that they will not issue the refund, then:

Get this form: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f843.pdf

Check the fifth box down that states “Refund to employee of social security, Medicare, or RRTA tax withheld in error…”

Complete the boxes at the bottom of page 1 (name, address, etc.), including lines 1, 2 and 3. On Line 4, check box a. Make sure to use a permanent address because the refund processing could take several months. If you use a residence hall address, you may never get your refund, so use the address of a close friend or family member who will not be moving in the next year or two.

On page 2, check the box d for 941

Skip question 6.

Check box 7d.

On the lines for question 8, explain that you are a non-resident alien in the United States on an F-1 (or J-1 or M-1, whichever one applies to you) visa. Explain that your employer withheld the taxes in error.

Sign and date in the signature area.

Read the following  page from Publication 519 and gather the documents from column 2 that apply to your situation. Attach the required documents to Form 843 and mail to this postal service address:

Department of the Treasury  

Internal Revenue Service Center

Ogden, UT 84201-0038

Be sure to keep copies of everything you send for your records.

YES, you definitely do. If you were in the United States for any portion of a day in the past year (i.e., if you left on January 1st and did not return, you were still present in the US on January 1st. If you arrived in the US on December 31st, you were here that day) and you did not have any sources of income, you are still required to file Form 8843. You can prepare this form manually (i.e., by hand) and mail it using the postal service by April 15th.  

You can find the form and instructions here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf

You can find a video demonstration of how to complete the form here: