Thank You to Our VITA Tax Volunteers
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Thank you to our all our volunteers who responded to our call for volunteers article in The Best Times. In 2018 we had the largest number of volunteers ever prepare taxes at our IRS certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) at the Sunset Drive Office Building. Because of your generosity, our VITA site has been able to process more tax returns, more quickly. Thank you! We couldn't have done it with out you.
What is VITA?
It is a national program to help Americans who make less than $60,000 to file their income taxes. VITA volunteers are trained to help people who are seniors, disabled, or bilingual understand the income tax process.
What do they do?
Vita volunteers must complete 8 – 10 hours of online training as well as take an exam to become certified volunteers for the IRS program called VITA which stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.
Why do they help?
Many volunteer like to help others save money on tax preparation, find deductions that they may have missed without assistance, or get caught up on previous year’s unfiled tax returns. For most people these dedicated volunteers take the confusion out of filling out forms.
Who are these volunteers?
Mostly retired adults who may have worked in accounting, teaching, CPA, math, or just like to crunch numbers.
When do they volunteer?
They mostly work during tax season February 1 – April 15 for approximately 4 – 20 hours each weeks preparing taxes. In the off season, they work 4 – 10 hours a month to help delinquent taxpayers get “caught up” with their tax filing.
2017 Facts
- 832 people were assisted with their taxes.
- $1,121,881 was returned to Johnson County residents
- Average taxpayer’s adjusted gross income was $25,438