Free tax preparation services to assist San Antonio Residents

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program increases income criteria, adds sites

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Jan. 4, 2008 –The City of San Antonio’s Department of Community Initiatives (DCI) and its partners in the San Antonio Coalition for Economic Progress (Coalition) today announced plans for this year’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. In addition to raising income eligibility criteria, area residents can now visit select H-E-B stores to get free tax preparation services.

This year, individuals and families earning up to $45,000 are eligible for the free services, an increase of $5,000 from the previous year. Because more residents are eligible for the VITA program, the Coalition worked hard to increase volunteers and also added new VITA sites including H-E-B, which will now join the Coalition’s efforts and offer VITA services at four locations.

Residents can now visit the H-E-B El Mercado located at 2130 Culebra Road, the H-E-B Plus! at 6818 S. Zarzamora, H-E-B at 1015 S. WW White Road and the H-E-B at 2534 S. New Braunfels to receive free tax preparation services.

“Our goal is to put money back into the pockets of our working families and individuals,” said Dennis Campa, director of the Department of Community Initiatives. “We also want to be easily accessible and convenient, so partnering with H-E-B was a perfect fit,” he added.

The H-E-B El Mercado on Culebra and H-E-B Plus! on S. Zarzamora will kick start the free service by offering tax assistance on January 12 and January 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Residents who do not have an opportunity to file their tax returns on either of the two days can visit any VITA site from January 23 to April 15. All returns are filed electronically and taxpayers can expect to receive their refunds within seven to 10 days.

When visiting a VITA site, taxpayers should bring the following items:

• Valid driver’s license or photo I.D.;
• All W-2 forms; 1099 forms, if applicable;
• Social Security cards or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers for all family members; those who are filing jointly must bring their spouse;
• Checking and/or savings account numbers (up to three accounts) for deposit of their refund directly to their account.

VITA volunteers will help taxpayers take full advantage of all tax credits for which they are eligible including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). Last year, an estimated 11,600 San Antonio taxpayers claimed the EITC. Of those, more than 3,805 used a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) to receive their tax refund more quickly. Because most RALs charge high interest rates, the Coalition will again partner with the City Employees Federal Credit Union to offer a zero percent interest Refund Express loan for taxpayers wanting to obtain their refund in as few as two business days. Individuals who opt for the Refund Express loan will pay only a $10 application fee. The Refund Express loan will be available at 13 VITA sites this year.

The San Antonio Coalition for Family Economic Progress includes the City of San Antonio; United Way of San Antonio-Bexar County; Internal Revenue Service; ACORN, the Annie E. Casey Making Connections initiative; Catholic Charities and other community and faith-based organizations. Sponsors of the VITA program include Frost Bank, Bank of America, Broadway Bank, H-E-B, City Employees Federal Credit Union and the AT&T Foundation.

For more information about VITA or to locate a site, call the United Way helpline at 227-4357 or 2-1-1. For more information on other services provided by DCI, call 207-8198 or visit www.sanantonio.gov/comminit.