Raritan Valley Community College Students Prepared 93 Tax Returns, Saved Filers $27,900

BRANCHBURG, NJ — Raritan Valley Community College students who took part in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program prepared 93 tax returns for members of the college and local communities during the 2026 tax season.

Through that work, the student volunteers saved taxpayers an estimated $27,900 in tax preparation costs, according to the college.

Taxpayers received a total of $93,472 in refunds through the program. That total included $18,592 in Earned Income Credits and $31,277 in Education Credits, according to the college.

The program served both people connected to RVCC and residents in the surrounding community.

The students also earned 31.5 hours of service learning time through The Pray Family Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement at RVCC.

The college said the work gave students practical, real-world experience while connecting them with community members who needed help during tax season.

RVCC runs the VITA program in partnership with the United Way of Northern NJ. Professors Anne Marie Anderson, CPA, and Alisa Shapiro, CPA, have co-taught the VITA course since its inception in 2016, according to the college.

The program combines tax preparation assistance for eligible filers with hands-on learning for students studying accounting and related subjects.

The student volunteers in the 2026 program were Rosmery Aldana, Debra Burnejko, Kareem El-Sherbini, Maria Alejandra Estrada, Jharelys Grullon, Roland Hofmann Sehringer, Wyatt Jaeger, Lucas Lage, Elidio Perez-Albiar, Harshitha Ramesh, Christian Saavedra, Ryan Sahns, Cristal Taveras, and Marcelo Vargas.

The results show the local reach of the college's tax assistance effort during this year's filing season.

In addition to helping taxpayers avoid preparation fees, the program helped filers receive refunds and tax credits for which they qualified, while students logged service learning hours through the college's civic engagement office.