Posted on Jan 18, 2012
Mayor Julián Castro and City staff joined the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, Catholic Charities of San Antonio, the Internal Revenue Service and partners with the Alamo City Coalition for Economic Self-Sufficiency (ACCESS) in officially celebrating the first day of free income tax preparation service offered by the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.
“Each year during tax filing season, VITA serves San Antonio families in an important way,” said Department of Human Services Director Gloria Hurtado. “VITA volunteers help working families access available tax credits while saving money on high preparer fees in order to ensure that more refund dollars go back to our families and community.” Twenty-three VITA sites opened across the city and will operate through Tuesday, April 17.
VITA volunteers electronically file free basic federal income tax returns for families and individuals earning up to $55,000. All volunteers are trained and certified by the Internal Revenue Service. Last year, VITA completed over 37,000 tax returns and recovered more than $72 million in tax refunds and credits for families, including over $38 million in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) refunds. Taxpayers saved an estimated $8.6 million in paid tax preparation fees.
VITA customers who receive refunds have the option of participating in the SaveUSA match-savings program available at select sites – tax filers who open a SaveUSA account with part of their refund for one year can receive a 50-percent match-deposit of up to $500 at the end of year. Tax filers can also purchase a U.S. Savings Bond through a split-refund option at any VITA site. Additionally, St. Phillip’s College’s VITA site along with VITA’s mobile tax team at Café College will offer application assistance with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to students and families during the tax season.
For more information or to locate a nearby VITA site, tax filers can call the United Way Helpline at 2-1-1 or go online to www.vitasa.org.
Courtesy to SouthsideSA.net
