Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
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Monday, April 5, 2010
By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer
As of March 29, with two weeks left to go, a free United Way service already had surpassed last year in the number of tax returns prepared.
And Pam Allen, coordinator of the local United Way’s HOPE (Helping Others Progress Economically) Initiative, said Friday she hopes her goal of preparing 1,500 tax returns will be met before the last preparation site closes on Saturday.
“I think we will do that,” she said.
As of March 29, the local United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program had prepared 1,389 federal tax returns, for a total refund amount of $1,992,940, and 1,421 state tax returns, of which 1,378 were Virginia tax returns, for a total Virginia refund amount of $216,495, Allen said.
She said 521 (about 37 percent) of the federal returns qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), for a total of $706,924. Last year, 392 (32 percent) of the 1,233 tax returns qualified for the EITC, she has said. EITC is a tax benefit for working people who earn low or moderate income. The Internal Revenue Service estimates that 20 to 25 percent of qualifying taxpayers miss out on thousands of dollars every year because they fail to claim their EITC.
Last year, the 1,233 returns prepared generated $1,645,555 in federal tax refunds and $189,286 in Virginia refunds, Allen has said.
In addition to the federal and state refunds received, the United Way’s VITA program saves taxpayers filing fees, which Allen estimated at $284,200 this year.
She attributed the increase in tax preparations this year mainly to the program’s previous clients talking to other people. “They have encouraged people to come to us,” she said.
To qualify for the service, the maximum income is $49,000 for the tax return (as an individual or married couple filing jointly), Allen has said.
The United Way HOPE Initiative VITA program began its fourth year in late January. In its first year (2007), 52 tax returns were prepared at two sites, officials have said.
The three IRS-certified sites this year were at Grace Network, on Monday afternoons; Bassett Family Practice, on Thursday and Friday mornings; and Liberty Fair Mall, Allen said. The final day at Bassett Family Practice was March 25, and the final day at Grace Network was March 29, she said.
The Liberty Fair Mall site, next to Bath and Body Works, will continue to remain open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Allen said. The site’s final day will be this Saturday. No appointment is required.
“I’d like to commend our volunteers for their dedication” and work, Allen said. The 38 volunteers made it possible to provide the service to people of Henry County and Martinsville, she said. “Some of our volunteers worked every day we were open.”
The volunteers completed, on average, at least 30 hours of training, and many went beyond the minimum, Allen has said.
Clients of the service “were very appreciative, couldn’t believe it was free, and appreciated the volunteers and how they worked with them,” Allen said.
The vast majority of the returns were filed electronically, which reduced the time it takes to get a refund by a week to two weeks at the beginning of the season and is saving two to six weeks at the busy end of season, Allen said.
She said 760 of the returns involved direct deposit for refunds, which means the taxpayer will get the refund at least a week quicker than if the refund check is mailed. She hopes to encourage that more in the future and to provide financial education to help people set up checking accounts if they don’t have them.
According to Allen and information she provided, taxpayers are advised to file their taxes by the April 15 IRS deadline even if they can’t afford to pay everything they owe, to pay what they can (even if it’s zero) and to call the IRS. The penalty for failure to file on time is more severe than if you can’t fully pay the taxes you owe on time. Allen also said that through April 10, the United Way’s HOPE Initiative VITA program will prepare tax returns for people who did not file returns for 2006, 2007 or 2008, or people can get the returns for those years prepared somewhere else by April 15. There is a three-year window for filing past tax returns, after which any unclaimed money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury, according to the IRS.
The IRS estimates that unclaimed refunds of more than $1.3 billion nationwide “are awaiting nearly 1.4 million people who did not file a federal income tax return for 2006.” In Virginia, $39,460,000 in unclaimed refunds are awaiting 40,600 people who did not file 2006 federal tax returns (a median return of $594), the IRS estimates.
April 15 is the deadline for filing a 2006 tax return.
In addition to getting an unclaimed tax refund, taxpayers also might qualify for EITC or the Telephone Excise Tax Refund, according to the IRS.
Kathy Rogers, executive director of the United Way of Henry County and Martinsville, has estimated the HOPE Initiative VITA program will cost about $30,000, with funding coming from The Harvest Foundation and the Virginia Community Action Partnership. Allen commended those agencies.
Information about the local VITA program is posted on the United Way’s Web site (www.unitedwayofhcm.org). Allen can be reached at 638-3946 (at United Way) or 632-0121 (at the Liberty Fair Mall site). The program provides itemized or nonitemized returns for individuals and couples filing jointly, but it does not do business, farm or rental tax returns, Allen said. General information about VITA is available on the IRS Web site (www.irs.gov). |
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