The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga is preparing for the tax season and is need of volunteers to help prepare income tax returns through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. VITA provides free tax assistance to individuals and families who earn an annual income up to $56,000.
Volunteers are not required to have any prior experience, just a desire to help people in their community prepare taxes free of charge. Through two training phases, in a classroom and online, volunteers will be taught everything they are expected to know by Internal Revenue Service-certified instructors and computer programs. Volunteers become IRS Certified Income Tax Preparers upon completion of an exam. In exchange of the certification, volunteers are asked to provide tax services for citizens from Chattanooga to South Pittsburg. The schedule for training provides flexible dates beginning in August to accommodate the volunteer’s needs. All training materials, including modern tax preparation software, will be provided by the VITA program.
Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, along with their partners and VITA volunteers, prepared more than 10,400 tax returns this past tax season, officials said.
To become a volunteer or to obtain additional information about the VITA program, contact Vallee Palmer, coordinator of the Urban League’s Area VITA Program, at 423-756-1762, ext 19.