Free Income Tax Prep Available To Greater Hartford Residents

It’s Tax Season, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is back, it’s virtual and it’s better than ever. The Village for Families and Children and the Human Resources Agency of New Britain have once again partnered with The United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut to help residents file taxes at NO CHARGE. Households with an annual income up to $57,000 qualify for FREE tax preparation. To register for VITA and schedule your FREE tax preparation with a professional volunteer go to www.211ct.org/taxhelp .

We all can agree that 2020 has been a challenging year with financial and health setbacks for all. We all deserve a little credit for navigating through the new realities of COVID-19. That is why, this year, the theme of VITA is “Give yourself some credit…some tax credit”. All VITA volunteers are IRS-certified tax professions and are ready to help all qualifying tax filers claim the tax credits they have earned. Similar to last year, filers will be connected to the same great team of volunteer tax preparers and arrangements will be made to file virtually.

Last year, in our region, VITA supported more than 13,000 tax filers, a 11.5 percent increase despite going virtual about halfway through the tax season. We are thrilled to report that last year local VITA tax filers received more than $17.1 million in federal refunds and credits alone. On average, people who filed their taxes through VITA received a federal refund of $1,410 per person and average earned income tax credit of $1,111. This year, VITA plans to do even more, including United Way-sponsored financial management resources for budgeting and saving, such as virtual financial coaching and a matched savings program.

To register for VITA and schedule your FREE tax preparation from professional volunteers go to www.211ct.org/taxhelp .