That annual rite is soon to be upon the land — filing tax returns.
For those with low to moderate income, and no desire to get deep in all the paperwork and form filing that accompanies tax season, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is back and ready to help.
Sponsored locally by the YVEDDI Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the Surry County Senior Center, the effort pairs trained volunteers with area residents whose income generally is less than $60,000.
According to Jody Crawford, program coordinator, those wishing to take advantage of the service can do so beginning Jan. 28. Starting that day, volunteers with the program will be at the Mount Airy Public Library each Saturday morning and at the Surry County Senior Center every Wednesday morning, meeting with individuals looking for assistance with filing their taxes. She said not only do the volunteers file federal taxes for those who qualify, they file state taxes for those living or working in North Carolina and Virginia.
The way the program works is simple. For those who qualify, Crawford said volunteers will sit down with individuals, go over their tax forms, and file their taxes for them. She said many of their clients are older, though individuals from all age groups utilize the service.
“Not everyone feels comfortable doing that stuff, they don’t understand taxes,” she said. “Not everyone is comfortable being online.”
So, the VITA program steps in and offers that service, free of charge.
Crawford said there is no hard and fast income limit for those seeking help.
“This is for people in the community who are usually at $60,000 or less (annual) income,” she said. However, there are other qualifiers. For instance, she said if a person has a lot of stocks or has been selling securities, they may not qualify. Someone who sold a house or received an inheritance over the past year may not qualify either, while some individuals who run a small business or who make more than $60,000 might still qualify to use the service.
“$60,000 isn’t exactly a limit, it is an estimate of when you’re likely to start having people out of the scope of what we can offer,” she said.
The best way to find out is to call — the trained volunteers know what questions to ask, and what forms to have individuals to complete to determine eligibility.
Crawford said those using the service will need to call in advance to set up an appointment. They may be asked to complete a simple form ahead of time and are told what tax documents they will need to take with them to an appointment. Generally, she said the process is fairly smooth.
“It can take as little as a half hour or 45 minutes, though usually it’s more like an hour, maybe an hour and 15 minutes,” she said. “You never know how complicated someone’s tax return is going to be.”
She said individuals utilizing the library might get faster service, since there are generally more volunteers available on Saturday than during the week.
“Usually, the library will have five or six people preparing returns. At the senior center we have fewer than that, maybe three or four. Last year we did 151 returns,” she said of how many people used the service.
While everyone involved with the program has to undergo IRS training, they are all volunteers. This is the sixth or seventh consecutive year the two local agencies — the Senior Center and the library — have offered the service. Crawford said it was offered for a number of years before, but then the program lost its coordinator and did not exist locally for two or three years. In addition to Mount Airy, the service also operates in Elkin and at other locations throughout the county.
While COVID restrictions have largely faded, she said the volunteers still often wear masks and sometimes ask that those coming in to have their taxes prepared do the same — it is up to the volunteers and what they are comfortable with, Crawford said.
She emphasized there is no cost for the service, and the services is simply filing taxes electronically on behalf of clients — it does not issue tax refund checks nor take tax payments. While individuals bringing their tax documents in to be filed can opt to have the IRS mail a check to them if they qualify for a refund, she said it is far quicker if they have a bank account the IRS can use to make a deposit.
Anyone with questions, or those wishing to make an appointment, should call 336-415-4225.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com