Professor Monica Roudil's students serve community members in the Low Income Tax Clinic

Realizing a gap in affordable tax representation for Middle Georgia residents, Professor Monica Armstrong Roudil launched Mercer Law School’s Low Income Tax Clinic in 2022.

Mercer’s Tax Clinic offers two distinct services. First, it provides tax preparation and electronic filing services for qualified individuals through the Voluntary Income Taxpayer Assistance (VITA) program. Students must pass a series of 3 tests to become “certified” VITA volunteers. To date, every student has been successful in passing the exams. The tax preparation part of the clinic allows the students to see their introductory Federal income tax class come to life as they input “gross income” and deductible expenses on the taxpayers’ returns and calculate their tax liability. Equally beneficial, by preparing the returns – which is done using software provided by the VITA program – tax clinic students have an opportunity to explain, in layman’s terms, basic tax law to the taxpayers. Perhaps the biggest benefit, as former tax student and Mercer alum Alixandra Minadeo states is, “[b]eing able to learn about basic tax return and helping our community.”

The second part of the clinic focuses on tax controversy where students, under Professor Roudil’s supervision, represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service. Students handle many types of tax matters on behalf of their clients including compromising tax liabilities when the client cannot pay the full amount due, helping clients respond to IRS notices thereby avoiding potential tax penalties and interest, and correcting tax account errors.

While tax preparation and tax controversy are on opposite sides of the tax spectrum, the students in Mercer’s Taxpayer Clinic are providing both of these much needed services to the residents of Middle Georgia and beyond.

Riya Patel, ’24, said “The most satisfying thing about helping people in the community with their tax issues is getting to connect with them on a personal level to understand their needs. I believe that once you start thinking of the person behind the case, you feel motivated to help them and come up with creative solutions to their problems.”

For some, the fear of taxes and the IRS can be so complex and intimidating that it qualifies as a phobia – forosophobia. Ebbing that fear is one asset the clinic provides. Kayla Pfeifer, ’24, said, “Often, our clients have families, children, dependents, and/or disabilities. It is our honor to meet each of their unique needs. The stress and anxiety felt during tax season is a universal experience shared by many. By participating in the tax clinic, we have the opportunity to alleviate some of that stress and anxiety by empowering local taxpayers with resources, options, and knowledge.”

Students enrolled in the clinic benefit from the class instruction and clinical experience gained in representing clients, developing professional judgment, and gaining practical experience in resolving taxpayer disputes and negotiating settlements with the IRS.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in international studies with a minor in French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Professor Roudil earned her law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude, and her Masters of Law (LL.M) in taxation from the University of Florida. Before joining the Mercer Law School faculty, she worked for the IRS Office of Chief Counsel where she, among other things, litigated tax cases in the United States Tax Court. In addition to the Tax Clinic, Professor Roudil’s other course teachings include: Federal Income Tax, Advanced Federal Income Tax, Federal Tax Procedure, Federal Taxation of Wealth Transfers, Corporate Income Tax Statutory Law and Analysis and Contracts.

Pfeifer said, “Professor Roudil is more than a professor – she’s a trusted mentor and advocate for her students. I have had the honor of working with her for the past two years as my law review faculty advisor. Inside and outside of the classroom, Roudil is…real. By incorporating lessons she’s learned in the “real” practice of law, she pushes her students to approach the law with practicality and confidence – two mindsets that will serve each of us well beyond the practice of law.”