WASHINGTON, DC — (Marketwire) — 01/13/12 — As W-2 and other income forms make their way to taxpayers- mailboxes, signaling the start of the 2011 tax season, NeighborWorks America reminds consumers to be aware of the real cost of quick refund services offered in the market today and to seek advice from nonprofit organizations that provide free tax preparation services.
Several NeighborWorks network organizations offer free tax preparation services to new and existing low- and moderate-income clients, with several working in partnership with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. Depending on the complexity of the return, using a free service can save each taxpayer hundreds of dollars.
Pathfinder Services, Huntington, IN, is one of the NeighborWorks organizations engaged with VITA that offers free tax preparation services. “This type of service is critical to helping our community because it provides a safe alternative to high-fee tax preparation and predatory lending in the form of expensive refund anticipation loans,” said Beth Stevens, family self-sufficiency coordinator at Pathfinder. “These free services benefit not just individual taxpayers, but also the entire community in a variety of ways. VITA helps more taxpayers receive all the tax benefits for which they are eligible. Studies show that for every dollar returned to working families through other tax credits, $1.50 in economic activity is generated.”
Family Services Inc., based in North Charleston, SC, has been a VITA partner for three years and works closely with other local nonprofits to serve the financial needs of the community, said David Geer, executive director.
“We have found that this service provides low- to moderate-income consumers the advantage of having taxes done professionally without a cost that is commonly abused by some for profit tax preparers, while also providing for quick refunds. In our footprint over 1000 consumers were served in 2011 and here at FSI we had over 100 consumers take advantage of the service,” said Geer.
He noted that offering the free tax service is not the only service Family Services offers its customers. “In addition we provide the consumers with information about banks, financial education workshops, and credit information so that they may open an account if they are unbanked or seek other education opportunities to strengthen their knowledge.”
NeighborWorks America also wants consumers to be financially savvy in their short-term finance decisions, particularly those that relate to tax-refund anticipation loans. Refund anticipation loans are costly and often unnecessary because taxpayers who file their returns electronically often can expect to have their tax refund within about 10 days if they choose the direct deposit option.
With more than one million homeowners having faced foreclosure in 2011, and many also obtaining a mortgage modification, it-s important that homeowners receive the best tax advice possible in order to file the correct long-form tax documents when itemizing deductions. NeighborWorks VITA providers can help, or refer homeowners to appropriately qualified and priced tax preparers.
It-s best to call ahead to your local NeighborWorks organization to determine if they offer tax services or have a referral network of free, trained professionals ready to help. Contact information for local NeighborWorks network organizations can be found at .
CONTACT:
DOUGLAS ROBINSON
202-220-2360