A number of NeighborWorks America network organizations help their clients with taxes, often via Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs, which offer free tax preparation to anyone making $54,000 a year or less. They have it running like a well-oiled machine. They know who their volunteers are, where they're meeting the clients and how long preparation for each client will likely take. Last year, as the pandemic spread during tax season, they had to make changes in the system. And this year, filled with economic upheaval, stimulus checks, and unemployment, they're making even more changes.
Everyone has questions, says Michelle Martin, director of community and economic empowerment for NeighborWorks Umpqua, a NeighborWorks organization in Roseburg, Oregon. What if I didn't have the IRS withhold money from unemployment? Am I still eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit? What kind of a return will I get if I haven't been working regular hours this year? What if I accessed my retirement early to make ends meet?
The trained volunteers and staff can answer the many questions taxpayers have. Each year, Martin says, volunteers and staff add to their tax knowledge and they can work together to address the questions from this tax year.
For example, many clients who received unemployment benefits would not have been able to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit they've been eligible for in years past, were it not for a recent change in the tax law. The COVID-19 pandemic placed many families in that precarious situation, Martin says, which meant "many of our most vulnerable populations would lose prescious income in their pockets." The Tax payer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 ensures that volunteers can assist each taxpayer to determine if a previous year's Earned Income Tax Credit is higher than for the 2020 tax season. If it is, they can use that information to claim the higher EITC on their current return, getting the most out of the credits created to assist low-income families and individuals.
Federal taxes are now due on May 17. Martin expects the extra month will see staff processing even more returns. Fortunately, her volunteers have agreed to stay on.
NeighborWorks Umpqua has run its program for four years and every year, it's grown. One thing that helped the organization get through last year's quick pivot to virtual was a pilot program that allowed them to experiment with remotely collecting and processing information. They needed to rely on that remote collection this year, especially as Douglas County and Coos County, where the tax program is centered, have been labeled "extreme risk" for COVID-19, according to the state.
"It's an interesting tax season," Martin says. "We've found many tax programs across our area have closed or are only opened with limited services. There are even more people who need free tax assistance than before COVID hit."
Last year, her office even got calls from people out of state looking for assistance filing for stimulus payments. Since it was remote. Martin herself helped a family – cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents – who were calling from Alaska. She says her office has also been processing taxes for people who don't regularly file them, like seniors who only receive social security. The reason? Without filing, they weren't able to get their stimulus checks. So, volunteers have been helping residents file "non-filer" tax forms.
The VITA program in Roseburg operated through October 2020, closing until January, when they reopened for the new season. As the season continues, staff and volunteers share concerns for their residents. "We know there are people who are not going to get a tax return that they usually count on," Martin says. "We came into this year knowing a lot of people would be upset because they didn't understand."
In Ohio, Famicos Foundation's VITA program has been up and running, too. As in Oregon, there's a drive to help people qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, says Sadie Sandlin, programs and services manager.
Normally during tax season, staff and volunteers would sit side by side with the clients, Sandlin says, pointing and explaining as they work through the data. This includes addressing topics such as the benefits a couple would receive from filing jointly and what happens when parents are about to become empty nesters and the child tax credits they've counted on are no longer there.
Now, clients drop off materials to a staff member – masked and gloved in the parking lot – who takes them to the tax lab and copies the information to be sent to a volunteer off-site. The volunteer then prepares the form and sends it back to be reviewed. Clients can still ask questions, she says, but they're not looking over anyone's shoulder. "They have trust in you" from years of using Famicos' services, Sandlin says.
Famicos prepares about 3,000 returns a year, both state and local. Sometimes, people come in and ask for help getting caught up, and volunteers prepare several years of taxes at a time. "It really is a challenge," Sandlin says of this year's taxes. "There are so many different components. And there are changes in the tax law."
Sandlin says there are always fluctuations in clients' returns, but they've seen clients receive lower refunds this year. "I've seen some come back where state is higher than federal," she says. Some clients have taken it in stride because of the stimulus checks, which offered relief. Others have been dispirited. But they can get explanations from the IRS, Sandlin says. They have rights.
The staff has been booked solid for the last four weeks. It is, says Sandlin, an extremely busy time of year. But it's part of the organization's commitment. "One of our initiatives is to help with asset building," Sandlin says, an apt topic for April, which is National Financial Capability Month, where the focus is on education and financial literacy. "If we can help someone build themselves up financially, it makes sense to be involved."
04/06/2021
