NC S820

Establishes a grant program through the State Board of Community Colleges for participating campuses to offer tax preparation courses and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services to students and community members earning $58,000 or less annually.

Requires participating community colleges to offer a fall curriculum course on basic tax accounting and federal/North Carolina tax return preparation leading to IRS certification, and a spring work-based learning course requiring 15 hours per week through April 15 with hourly compensation for students.

Appropriates $1,304,100 in nonrecurring funds and $570,100 in recurring funds to the Community Colleges System Office for fiscal year 2022-2023, with allocations for curriculum creation, faculty champion bonuses up to $1,500, personnel hiring, and student work-based learning opportunities.

Allocates $50,000 in nonrecurring and $100,000 in recurring funds to the Department of Revenue for training and technical assistance to community college personnel and students.

Appropriates $840,000 in nonrecurring funds to United Way of North Carolina to expand VITA services, increase VITA locations, hire staff, provide software and supplies, and develop multilingual marketing and financial literacy educational materials.

Effective date: July 1, 2022.