The United Way of Deschutes County reports that its free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program has folded into Tax-Aide, the AARP Foundation counterpart to VITA. Last year VITA volunteers prepared 1,200 returns and returned more than $1.3 million in refunds back into Central Oregon through the local program.
VITA was introduced in Central Oregon in 2008 by the Partnership to End Poverty. To prevent the loss of this valuable program when the Partnership to End Poverty closed its doors in 2012, United Way of Deschutes County took over the program and has operated it since that time. Now, to increase the scale and sustainability of free tax preparation services in the region into the foreseeable future, United Way is converting the Central Oregon VITA program to Tax-Aide, in partnership with CASH Oregon.
Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free, volunteer-run tax preparation and assistance service. “In Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson Counties last year, we assisted over 2,800 people in preparing and filing their tax returns,” said Tax-Aide District Coordinator Jim Senechal. “We could not do it without the assistance of our volunteers, who make an indelible mark on the communities they help.”
The goal of both the Tax Aide and VITA programs is to help hardworking Oregonians who cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on tax preparation, and keep them from falling prey to predatory lenders selling high-priced loans advertised as “fast refunds.” The programs also emphasize that those who are eligible should take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Tax Aide volunteers will begin preparing 2014 tax returns in February. To learn more about the program and for dates, times and locations go to the United Way of Deschutes County website at www.deschutesunitedway.org or CASH Oregon’s website at www.cashoregon.org
