Volunteers sought for tax aid

With the holidays just around the corner, another season isn't far off either.

That's the upcoming tax season.

In preparation, the Internal Revenue Service and Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition are seeking local volunteers to provide free income tax help for Yuma-area residents.

Coalition volunteers will assist people who cannot afford to pay for tax help. They will be asked to provide tax help four to six hours a week from Jan. 20 through April 15.

“Volunteers will help low- to moderate-income families, seniors, the disabled and those with English as a second language prepare and file their income tax returns at absolutely no charge,” said Bea Rodriguez, IRS spokeswoman.

Tax volunteers need no prior experience. Materials and tax instruction are provided at no cost, and volunteers become IRS certified to prepare taxes.

The volunteers will help taxpayers claim benefits available to them, such as the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit and other new tax items available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“For example, if a person works, doesn’t make a lot of money, and hasn’t had any federal income tax taken out of their paycheck, the earned income tax credit can make a refund happen,” said Rodriguez. “But you can’t get the credit unless you file a tax return.”

Training will be held in December and January, during which volunteers will learn how to electronically file tax returns, both federal and state, using IRS tax preparation software.

Additional community volunteers are needed as Spanish language interpreters and as "greeters" to assist with scheduling and screening clients to make sure they have their tax information in order, Rodriguez said.

Last year, Yuma-area tax volunteers prepared more than 1,100 individual income tax returns resulting in more than $600,000 worth of earned income tax credits and more than $1.4 million in federal income tax refunds, she said.

For more information about volunteering, call Chicanos Por la Causa at 627-2042 or send an e-mail to maria.vasquez @cplc.org.

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EARNED INCOME CREDIT QUALIFICATIONS

Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:
    •  $43,279 (48,279) married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
    •  $40,295 ($45,295 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
    •  $35,463 ($40,463 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
    •  $13,440 ($18,440 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

Tax Year 2009 maximum credit:
    •  $5,657 with three or more qualifying children
    •  $5,028 with two qualifying children
    •  $3,043 with one qualifying child
    •  $457 with no qualifying children

Source: www.irs.gov