CINCINNATI, Ohio (April 18, 2022) — Annette Tice says her decision to take on a leading role as a corporate volunteer for United Way’s Free Tax Prep was “a no-brainer.”

“This is a way to use my skills in tax to help someone else,” says Tice, Managing Director, Business Tax Services in the Cincinnati office of accounting firm EY. “I appreciate that taxes can be intimidating for many people. It was easy for me to step in and help.”

She helps in a big way, overseeing all of EY’s Free Tax Prep volunteer efforts. The company has a longstanding relationship with United Way, and this tax season she was among 15 local EY employees who volunteered with Free Tax Prep.

Having just completed her 10th year as a Free Tax Prep volunteer, Tice spent five Saturdays this tax season co-managing the Free Tax Prep site at the Groesbeck Branch Library, where EY and Kroger partnered to provide the tax prep services. She also directs a Free Tax Prep site with Nehemiah Manufacturing. In addition, EY partnered with GE Aviation on Free Tax Prep. GE Aviation provided its services at the Reading Branch Library.

Tice and her team assist taxpayers who, in some cases, previously paid hundreds of dollars to commercial tax preparers. That is money many families need to pay for essentials such as food, rent or mortgage payments. No wonder, then, that they are thrilled to discover that using Free Tax Prep allows them to claim all the refunds and credits they deserve, plus it’s free.

“When they come to us and realize they’re going to get the same (service) . . . I’ve had people in tears before, just because of how grateful they are,” Tice says. 

She is grateful, too, for the opportunity to serve others.

“The reward is feeling I truly am directly engaging with taxpayers and assisting them on such a personal level,” she says. “You sit across the table from them, with their very personal information, something they may be uncomfortable with. And at the end of the day, I’m able to make a difference.”