Community Corner
Free Tax Preparation Available at YWCA
YWCA Hartford Region’s Free Tax Assistance Site Opened February 1 for Local Working Families
Beginning February 1st and running through April 12th, 2014, YWCA Hartford Region will serve as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site. VITA offers free income tax preparation for lower-to-moderate working individuals and families with household incomes up to nearly $52,000. The program helps families boost earned incomes, pay down debt and work toward saving for the future.
IRS-certified community volunteers prepare and electronically file tax returns and ensure that individuals and families receive their proper credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit. EITC’s often go unclaimed due to the complexity of the forms and lack of awareness to those who are eligible. EITC credits averaged $1,400 per household last year at YWCA’s VITA site.
Individuals who usually do not file because they do not owe any taxes are encouraged to visit a VITA site to find out if they qualify for a tax refund under the EITC program. Taxpayers can receive their tax refund quickly and have it directly deposited into their bank account.
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In 2013, YWCA served 200 filers - resulting in $319,262 in state and federal refunds and credits to working families. Refunds included $101,865 in EITC and $22,036 in child tax credits.
Tax preparers will be available by appointment only at 135 Broad Street Hartford, CT 06105 on Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings from 5:00 – 8:00 PM and Saturdays 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Please call United Way 2-1-1, a free, multilingual helpline open 24-hours a day, seven days a week, or YWCA at (860) 525-1163, ext. 450 to schedule an appointment or to receive further information about the program.
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Additionally, individuals or families with a household income up to $58,000 may file their own taxes for free online at: www.myfreetaxes.com/unitedway.
The 2014 VITA and MyFreeTaxes Partners are: Bank of America and its Foundation; Bloomberg Foundation; City of Hartford/Opportunities Hartford Initiative; Community Accounting Aid and Services; Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; Human Resources Agency of New Britain; Internal Revenue Service; Liberty Bank Foundation; United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut; United Way of Connecticut/2-1-1; The Village for Families & Children; Walmart Foundation; and Webster Bank.
