Appalachian Community Action Agency and United Way of Greater Kingsport are providing free income tax preparation services to people in this region during tax season.
The Virginia Community Action Partnership awarded $185,725 in grants to 18 coalitions in Virginia to provide the service under the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, an earlier press release states.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also referred to as VITA, offers free tax help from IRS-certified volunteers to people who generally make $64,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns.
“We are very appreciative of Virginia’s governor and general assembly for funding this important work,” said Carolyn Spohrer, Vice President at VACAP. “Coalitions have been providing VITA services, in some cases, for over twenty years, including during the pandemic.”
Appalachian Community Action Agency was one of the 18 organizations to receive a grant. AppCAA serves residents of Lee, Scott and Wise County, as well as the city of Norton.
“On behalf of our staff and volunteers working with the VITA program, we are pleased to accept this $10,000 grant award,” Karen Davidson, VITA Coordinator of AppCAA said in the release. “Being one of 18 grantees from across the Commonwealth enables us to impact the lives of individuals and families as we continue our VITA work as we have for 20 tax filing seasons.”
The press release states that over 19,500 returns were filed during last tax filing season, bringing $19 million in refunds to communities across Virginia.
AppCAA’s program will start assisting taxpayers with federal and state tax filings on Feb. 1.
“We are a drop off only site, which means taxpayers can drop off their tax information and return at a later date to pick up their paperwork”, said Davidson in the release. “We are not preparing taxes in person again this year.”
Taxes are prepared at the AppCAA office located at 175 Military Lane in Gate City, Virginia, but can also be completed entirely electronically.
More information
For more information, call 276-885-0192 or visit www.appcaa.org.
Tax preparation help in Kingsport
In Kingsport, United Way of Greater Kingsport has partnered with the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Office and the Urban League of Chattanooga to provide the same services for those who qualify.
According to the release, the Kingsport VITA program is unable to prepare the following types of tax returns: Schedule C with Losses, Complicated and Advanced Schedule D (capital gains and losses), Rental or Farm Income, and certain travel and auto deductions.
Appointments will be held at the Riverview Community Room inside the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex or the Sullivan County Public Library in Blountville.
Certified VITA volunteers will be available by appointment between Feb. 5 and April 11. Volunteers will be available in Kingsport on Monday and Thursday evenings; volunteers will be available at the Blountville Library on Tuesday mornings and Friday evenings.
Schedule an appointment
To schedule an appointment for the Kingsport VITA program, call 423-483-2962. For more information, visit www.uwaykpt.org/vita.
