With nearly 50 percent of the population in our 10-Parish service area considered ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, Capital Area United Way is and will continue to focus on helping these individuals and families become financially stable.
One component of our income stability focus area is our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This federally-funded program works to assist low-income individuals in filing their income tax returns, while ensuring that all available credits are accounted for when filing. Those who make less than $57,000 can get their taxes filed through VITA. VITA is helping these individuals and families file their tax returns for free, ensuring that they are keeping as much as their hard earned income as possible.
“The goal of our VITA program is to assist in bringing ALICE individuals and families closer to income stability,” said Delores Hurst, Director of Community Impact, Income Stability at Capital Area United Way. “We encourage our clients to invest their refunds into a savings account and work to connect them to financial planning resources through our partners.”
Making a VITA appointment is easy! You can simply call 2-1-1, and they will connect you to site to make an appointment; text FREETAXES to 313131; or, you can schedule an appointment online. Sites are available to all those who live in the 10-Parish service area. In addition to in-person, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a virtual option called Get Your Refund!
One important credit to ask about at your appointment is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). If you made less than $52,000, you could be eligible for this tax credit—which can be worth up to $6,000! This tax credit is contingent upon household income, number of children, etc.
Don’t qualify for VITA? There is another resource that allow you to simply file your taxes for free online called My Free Taxes! For this service, you must make $66,000 or less.
Our VITA partners include Entergy, Capital One; Red River Bank, Save Your Refund; America Saves; IRS; Prosperity Now; and Get Your Refund.
For more information, please contact vita@cauw.org.
