Let Your Refund Bloom

VITA Tax Prep: College of Business Students Plant Seeds of Financial Support 

As the new year settles in, inboxes fill, paperwork piles up and the countdown quietly begins to one of the year’s more important deadlines: tax season. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) opened the official tax filing season on January 28, and it will remain open until April 15. During this time, individuals are required to complete and submit their tax returns, a process that can be overwhelming and stressful. To help alleviate that pressure, the University of Louisville College of Business and the Beta Alpha Psi chapter offer free tax preparation services through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). Staffed by trained student volunteers, VITA provides support to students, faculty, staff and members of the surrounding community. During the 2025 tax season, 13 student volunteers helped 191 students from 10 different countries with their taxes, and every student who visited the VITA location got their taxes filed for the 2024 fiscal year. Introduced to the city of Louisville in 2001 and UofL in spring 2024, the program not only serves the public but gives accounting students valuable, hands-on experience preparing tax returns. In this Q&A, UofL accounting major and VITA volunteer, Nicole Tioukalova talks about her introduction to the program, what it takes to be a volunteer and reflects on the benefits of VITA for the Louisville community.  

College of Business: Tell us about yourself. 

Nicole Tioukalova: I am a junior accounting major, originally from Richmond, Kentucky. Outside of classes I am involved in several different organizations and student chapters, including President of the National Association of Black Accountants, Beta Alpha Psi Community Service Coordinator, College of Business Student Council Recruitment Board Member and as a campus ambassador for KyCPA and Becker.

College of Business: What led you to choose the University of Louisville for your degree? 

Nicole Tioukalova: During my senior year of high school, I was considering a few different universities in Kentucky. I was drawn to the University of Louisville primarily for its location, a bigger city with bigger opportunities. [Also], while it did not ultimately influence my decision, I liked the fact that students in the College of Business were off on Fridays!

College of Business: How did you learn about the VITA Tax Program? 

Nicole Tioukalova: I first learned about the VITA program when I joined Beta Alpha Psi at the start of my sophomore year. Several of the officers mentioned participating in the program the year prior and explained that everything took place directly in the College of Business building.

College of Business: Did you have any prior experience in tax/financial accounting before volunteering with VITA? 

Nicole Tioukalova: Before joining the VITA program, my accounting experience came from prior classes: ACCT 201 and 202, and ACCT 301 and 302. I did not have any real-world accounting experience at the time, so I was excited to get involved.

College of Business: What inspired you to become a volunteer tax preparer? Is this something you ever thought you’d do? 

Nicole Tioukalova: In discussions about accounting, it is almost guaranteed that someone will bring up the topic of audit versus tax. Wanting to experience tax firsthand to see if it was something I could pursue as a career, I decided to become a VITA volunteer. Becoming involved in the program also meant giving back to the community, which I love to do. 

If you had told freshman-year me that I would be serving as a volunteer tax preparer, I probably would have been pleasantly surprised. At the time, I was not aware of any programs like VITA and assumed I would only be able to get hands-on accounting experience through internships.

College of Business: What does a typical volunteer day look like for you? 

Nicole Tioukalova: As a volunteer, every day is a little different. For the spring 2026 program, we are currently open Monday through Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m in room We typically have rotating volunteer groups depending on members’ class schedules, internships and extracurricular commitments.  

I volunteer on Tuesdays after my Cost Accounting class, ACCT 320. After settling in, I alternate between the roles of greeter and tax preparer, depending on volunteer availability. As a greeter, I welcome clients and assist them in filling out an intake form, 13614-C or 13614-NR, which is used during the filing process. As a tax preparer, I work in a separate room with a few other volunteers to prepare returns using our designated software, TaxSlayer. While the tax preparers complete the filing, the client sits beside us to provide documents, answer questions and observe the process.

College of Business: What skills should volunteers have to succeed in this program? 

Nicole Tioukalova: Successful VITA volunteers are organized, detail-oriented, patient, empathetic and collaborative. It is also important for volunteers serving as tax preparers to be knowledgeable on important tax concepts. Of course, volunteers are not expected to enter the program as fully fledged tax experts; the executive board hosts various training sessions to ensure everyone is certified before the site opens.

College of Business: How has volunteering with VITA impacted your future academic or career goals? 

Nicole Tioukalova: Volunteering with VITA has had a tremendously positive impact on my academic and career goals. As my knowledge and skills have improved, so has my interest in the tax field. Just a few months ago, I accepted a tax internship for the upcoming summer!

College of Business: Has this program changed how you think about financial literacy and accessibility? 

Nicole Tioukalova: Being a VITA volunteer has ignited my passion for promoting financial literacy and advocating for accessible financial resources for underserved populations. As detailed in the program flyer, VITA offers free tax assistance to many individuals, including college students and staff, taxpayers who generally make $67,000 or less and limited English-speaking taxpayers.

College of Business: In what way has volunteering with VITA helped you apply classroom concepts to real work? 

Nicole Tioukalova: Having completed two tax classes, ACCT 315 and 415, VITA has been an excellent opportunity to apply classroom concepts to real-world scenarios. While taking the necessary exams to become a certified tax preparer for the program, Basic, Advanced, International and Foreign Student–I recognized how helpful it was to already be familiar with topics such as different sources of income, types of deductions and credits and tax treaties. 

Shout out to my tax professor, Dr. Lisa Blum! She is incredibly knowledgeable on complex tax topics, is always available to help students with questions and provides numerous opportunities for students to apply their tax knowledge on projects that simulate real-world scenarios. While taking her courses, [I completed] two tax research projects that both utilized RIA Checkpoint, an online tax research database. [I also completed] two federal income tax returns, one for a corporation and one for a married couple. Tax is by no means an easy subject, so I am grateful to have had her as a professor.

College of Business: What has been the most impactful experience working with a client? 

Nicole Tioukalova: On my first day volunteering as a tax preparer, I helped three clients with their tax returns. The final return was particularly complex. With the help of other volunteers, we bounced around ideas and carefully reviewed each step. Throughout the process, we kept the client informed, including them in our discussions and explaining the logic behind certain calculations. Beyond simply completing the return, this experience demonstrated how accessible financial guidance can reduce stress and empower clients to better understand their finances. 

College of Business: What has been the most rewarding part of volunteering with VITA? 

Nicole Tioukalova: The most rewarding part of volunteering with VITA has been seeing the direct impact of our work on those we serve. On a random Tuesday, you might assist a freshman filing a tax return for the first time, a PhD student participating in the program for the second year in a row, a faculty member, etc. You never know how impactful free tax return assistance can be for someone. 

College of Business: Why should students and the community care about the VITA program? 

Nicole Tioukalova: The VITA program offers many benefits to both students and the greater community, with one of the primary benefits being free tax assistance. For lower-income individuals, tax refunds can sometimes be substantial relative to their annual income and may help cover certain expenses. Students also benefit by volunteering with the program. For those studying accounting, finance and/or other related fields, VITA provides a great opportunity to serve the community while applying classroom concepts to real-world situations. 

College of Business: Why do you think programs like VITA are important for the Louisville community? 

Nicole Tioukalova: By providing free tax assistance, programs like VITA are important to the greater Louisville community because they reduce financial barriers, lower stress and empower individuals to better understand and manage their finances and promote economic equity. 

Interested in taking advantage of the VITA program? Our certified VITA volunteers are here to make tax season easier for you. VITA offers a free, reliable and stress-free way to get your tax return prepared with confidence and on time. Ready to get started? Schedule your appointment here:https://calendly.com/bapuoflvita/30min 

About the UofL College of Business:  

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people.  

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