Making a Difference
2013 – 2014
Family Resource Management Program Focus Team
Financial Education at Tax Time
Grand
Challenges
K-State Research
and Extension:
providing education
you can trust to help
people, businesses,
and communities
solve problems,
develop skills, and
build a better future.
Rhonda Gordon
Family and Consumer
Sciences Agent
620-341-3220
rgordon@ksu.edu
Cindy Evans
Family and Consumer
Sciences Agent
785-232-0062, Ext. 103
cevans@ksu.edu
Situation
A lack of financial literacy leaves many Kansans struggling to manage their money. Add the
complexity of the tax code, and taxpayer anxiety from a lack of knowledge can turn into a
crippling lack of action.
Extension educators know financial education is the first step toward helping taxpayers
make responsible decisions about money. The taxpayer reaches a teachable moment when
a preparer can help explain how changes in family, work, income, and money management
may affect tax returns in the future.
What We Did
K-State Research and Extension personnel in seven counties provide local support to the
Free Tax Assistance efforts of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and AARP Tax Aide.
Agents are certified by the Internal Revenue Service as tax preparers, and in some counties
they lead or work with a local coalition to recruit and train tax volunteers.
Outcomes
Free tax assistance helps taxpayers who are required to file to do so at no cost and to place
their tax liabilities on record. In addition to what the taxpayers learned about making
better financial decisions in the future, during the 2014 tax season (filing 2013 returns), the
volunteers prepared 9,678 federal returns, helping local taxpayers receive a total of $11.67
million in refunds. According to IRS figures, these taxpayers saved an estimated $2 million
in tax preparation fees and paid tax liabilities totaling more than $1.1 million. Both the tax
refunds and the money saved on tax preparation fees represent financial resources those
individuals and families can put toward achieving their goals.
Although free tax assistance obviously benefits the taxpayers who use these sites, the
effort has public value to all taxpayers. Federal and state refunds stabilize the county tax
base, stimulate the local economy, and reduce demand for public assistance by helping
taxpayers easily gain access to their refunds.
Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.