The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is beginning preparations for the 2021 tax filing season. The program, designed to provide 100% free tax preparation for individuals and families with low-to-moderate incomes of $66,000 or less, prepares thousands of federal returns each year. During the 2020 tax filing season, the program’s IRS-certified volunteers prepared over 6,000 returns, bringing in over $12 million in federal refunds to area residents. This year, VITA hopes to outperform its past success by offering both virtual training and virtual tax preparation.
The VITA program is delivered by the Laredo Family Economic Success Coalition, a group of mostly local area organizations that combine their efforts and resources to promote economic well-being and financial stability in Laredo and surrounding communities. Members of the Coalition affirm their participation each year well before the start of the season and work behind the scenes throughout the year to ensure the program’s success. This year’s participating members include: Azteca Economic Development, Boys and Girls Club of Laredo, Catholic Charities, City of Laredo Public Library, Consulado General de México en Laredo, Goodwill Industries, Helping to Ensure Laredo’s Prosperity (HELP), Laredo College, Laredo ISD, NeighborWorks Laredo, TAMIU, Workforce Solutions of South Texas, and Zapata County ISD. The Coalition is supported by funding from HEB, IBC, Texas Community Bank, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Dr. Jack Byham, the Coalition’s current Chair, noted, “We could not deliver this program in Laredo without the help of our partners. We are very grateful for their support. Each season is a new adventure, because it brings unique challenges and rewards. This year COVID is the name of the challenge. Like many other organizations, we have to adapt; our method of adapting this year is to incorporate virtual tax preparation. He said the organization hopes that many of its traditional brick-and-mortar clients will take advantage of the ability to work with VITA to prepare returns from the comfort of their homes. This is the first year VITA has ever offered virtual trainings to its volunteers or virtual tax preparation to the public.
The VITA program is a local resource for area taxpayers in more than one way. In addition to helping them save hard-earned dollars by avoiding tax preparation fees, the program is also the first line of resolution for many who receive letters from the IRS that describe problems, have questions, or contain instructions for taxpayers that they may not fully understand or otherwise know how to resolve. Patricia Hernandez, VITA Program Coordinator, observed, “the best feeling is to have resolved someone else’s problem or frustration and to know that you have met that need using the training you received in the program. When I see that happening with our volunteers, it makes me happy.”
In order to better assist taxpayers with tax inquiries or problems, VITA has partnered this year with Guardiola Law Office, PLLC. According to Dr. Byham, “in Mr. Guardiola the VITA program has a first-rate resource and knowledge-base for handling the more complex tax issues and in particular those issues that might lie beyond the immediate scope of the training offered by the program. Mr. Guardiola is a tax professional. It’s nice to know that we never have to say to someone, ‘Sorry, we can’t help you.’ Because in almost every case, we can.” Mr. Guardiola’s website is https://andyguardiolatax.com/.
VITA will offer free tax preparation services during the 2021 tax filing season at several sites in Webb and Zapata counties — and online. The full listing is made available on VITA’s website at the start of each season in January. The VITA program offers e-file and direct deposit; at VITA, taxpayers keep 100% of their return.
For more information or to volunteer with VITA, interested persons should call or text (956) 307-8138, e-mail vitalaredo@gmail.com, or visit VITA on the web at www.vitalaredo.org/volunteer. The site offers an enrollment form for volunteers and a listing of courses and their November, December, and January dates for training.
