MakingChange Seeks Volunteers to Prepare Tax Returns

MakingChange is seeking volunteers to serve as tax preparers, quality reviewers, greeters and office staff at The Multiservice Center in Laurel, where it will be hosting Howard County’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site.

The VITA site will operate on Monday and Wednesday nights from 4-8 p.m., Friday from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. from Jan. 28-April 15, 2017. Volunteers are asked to commit to serving on a regular schedule of 8 to 10 sessions for the duration of the tax season.

VITA offers free tax preparation assistance to most individual taxpayers who earn less than $54,000. VITA offers free electronic filing, savings bonds and the option to receive refunds via direct deposit onto a debit card.

Volunteer tax preparers are trained to help with special credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. Training and certification for volunteer tax preparers are offered free and sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. No prior tax preparation or accounting experience is required.

To learn more about volunteering, visit http://makingchangecenter.org/join-us/volunteer/tax-volunteers/, or contact Executive Director Mike Couch, couchm@makingchangecenter.org, 410-313-0239.

MakingChange provides group seminars and personal coaching to teach people to manage their money and change their lives. Its programs are offered in schools, human service agencies and businesses. It currently hosts seminars attended by over 700 people per year and meets with approximately 100 clients for personal financial coaching. It prepared tax returns for 453 people last year.

For information, visit makingchangecenter.org.