Tax filing season is here and low to moderate income filers across Kentucky can get free assistance.
IRS certified volunteers are available at some 200 free tax preparation sites around the state.
Tina Lynch, executive director of the Green River Asset Building Coalition in Daviess County says this program is not just a tax preparation service.
“We don’t just do taxes. We sit down with you and we show you how to do your taxes, what those numbers mean. And we talk with you about what you’re going to do with that money and how to stretch it throughout the year.”
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program or VITA is sponsored by the federal government.
The Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence even runs a mobile unit which is available in some eastern Kentucky communities.
Andrea Miller KCADV’s client services director says the service sometimes saves people up to hundreds of dollars.
“Typically the ones we’re talking to are paying three and four hundred dollars to get their taxes done. And people who are eligible for the service are those who are typically making, the cap is around 55 or 57 thousand dollars a year. But that is at the discretion of the site coordinator, if they feel the person meets what I would call some of the other VITA criteria.”
Green River Asset Building Coalition’s Tina Lynch says there were a lot of tax changes approved last year and for the majority of tax payers the anticipated refunds federally are pretty much the same.
“If you are single with no children, whether you itemized last year or not, you are going to come out ahead because standard deductions practically doubled and unless you had a mass amount of itemized deductions you are definitely going to see a larger refund on your federal.”
She says, however, a married couple with children who each had incomes are probably going to see a smaller refund.
Lynch says those interested in free tax prep can find the closest free tax site at IRS.GOV.
She says it’s important to bring social security cards for everybody on the tax return, picture ID, all of your income statements and any deductions you might have.
Some locations offer appointment only.
