Capital Area United Way offers free tax services for those in need

When tax season comes around, lots of people look forward to the financial relief a tax return can bring. But for others, tax season just creates anxiety over what they might owe. Even the cost of paying for tax services can be a barrier in filing. However, for certain taxpayers, there are tax services available through Capital Area United Way at no cost. 

Services through VITA — Volunteer Income Tax Assistance — have been available since the IRS created the program in the ’70s. Locally, it has been available since 2007, but it wasn’t until 2018 that it merged with Capital Area United Way. 

This nonprofit organization, which serves Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties, offers eligible taxpayers three options for filing. Households making under $75,000 a year can file for free online through myfreetaxes.com. Online filing is also available through getyourrefund.org, which features a chat option, for households making under $66,000 a year. Households making under $57,000 a year can file through the VITA program. Those that are eligible for this assistance can call 211 to schedule an appointment.

Nationally, United Way has helped more than 1.3 million taxpayers with myfreetaxes.com, saving more than $260 million in filing fees. On a local level, the VITA program helped 3,500 households in 2019, with just under 200 volunteers. This year, there are more than 300 volunteers ready to help even more individuals and families. 

VITA director David Reyes said there has been an increase in clients and the organization’s volunteer numbers.

“People are much more willing to volunteer, and the clients are more willing to come and be engaged with people,” Reyes said. 

Capital Area United Way focuses on three main pillars: health, education and financial stability. Reyes cites free tax services as key in creating financial stability naming returns as “income sources that help bring people out of poverty.”

Regarding access to tax services working in conjunction with financial stability, Reyes said the fees that other tax services charge can get in the way of other life necessities. By providing free tax services, families can use that money toward what they really need.

“If families are paying up to $300, or sometimes more depending on how complicated their tax return is, that can basically be a month’s worth of food,” Reyes said. 

For some families, this time of year is their largest financial transaction leading to longer-term plans. “Longer-term thinking usually leads to better outcome,” Reyes said. 

There are some important changes made to filing taxes this year that can apply to many families, such as the reimbursement for childcare expenses up to $8,000. For parents that opted out of the advanced child tax credit last year, $3,600 can be claimed for each child under the age of 6 and $3,000 can be claimed for each child under 17. Additionally, parents that had children in 2021 can claim a $1,400 stimulus payment.

Reyes said that Capital Area United Way is always hoping to bring more volunteers on board. “Our community is more robust when people are participating and engaged with what we’re doing and helping one another,” he said. 

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