Casey Offering Tax Preparation Help for Working Families

For more than 20 years, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs help individuals with low to moderate incomes file their tax returns at no cost.

IRS-certified volunteers are responsible for returning more than $1 billion in tax refunds to people living in communities below the poverty-line.  These volunteers ensure that eligible candidates claim tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child Tax Credit, the Elderly Tax Credit, and the Child Dependent Care Tax Credit. VITA sites also offer tax filers financial services that help eliminate debt and increase savings.  

At the end of 2007, Congress passed the Omnibus budget bill, which included $8 million over two years to support the work of community-based VITA programs. This is the first time that federal funding has been made available for community-based VITA programs (in the past this funding was only available to the elderly or the military). This new federal funding will help more than one million low-wage earners get the benefits they’ve earned, while avoiding more than $200 in fees that they often forfeit when using paid preparers.

Since 2003, VITA and its promotion of the EITC have been essential elements of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign. The children in greatest trouble in America today are those whose parents lack the earnings, assets, services and social support systems required to consistently meet their families’ needs, according to the Foundation and its direct service agency, Casey Family Services.

“Casey supports VITA programs, because they help put needed dollars back into the hands of low-income working families,” says Raymond L. Torres, Casey Family Services executive director & Foundation vice president. “These volunteers offer financial services that will help to lift vulnerable families out of poverty and build wealth.”

This tax season, the following Casey Family Services’ divisions are participating in free tax-preparation clinics:

CONNECTICUT:
Bridgeport Division
789 Reservoir Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Wednesdays & Thursday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., through April 9
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through April 11

Hartford Division
Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., through April 9
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through April 12

MAINE:
Mercy Hospital
144 State Street, Portland, Maine
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., through March 15

Unity Gardens
124 Tandberg Trail, Rt. 115, Windham, Maine
Tuesdays, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., through April 8

Portland Public Library (AARP Tax-Aide Site)
5 Monument Square, Portland, Maine
Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through April 10

MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Division
Lowell Senior Center
276 Broadway, Lowell, Massachusetts
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon

NEW HAMPSHIRE:
All New Hampshire sites are by appointment only. Call 603.934.3315 to schedule.

The Concord Asset Building Coalition
Concord Boys and Girls Club
55 Bradley Street, Concord, New Hampshire
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., through March 1

VERMONT
For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 211 statewide.

CVOEO
191 North Street, Burlington
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Casey Family Services
46 Main St., Winooski
Tuesdays and Thursdaysm 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Center for Community & Neighborhoods
125 College St., 2nd Floor, Burlington

Through March 1:
Mondays and Tuesdays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Fridays, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

From March 3 to April 5:
Mondays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

From April 7 to April 15:
Mondays and Tuesdays, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Fridays, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.