Annual Report 2016-17

VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA) Volunteers served 963 families, saving filers over $174,000 in tax preparation fees.

New River Community Action was the recipient of a $10,925 grant from the Virginia Community Action Partnership , allowing for the operation of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at sites in Radford City and Floyd, Montgomery and Pulaski Counties. VITA provides free tax return preparation to low-moderate income individuals. From January to May 2017, community volunteers contributed almost 2,247 hours and assisted 914 taxpayers. The volunteers helped their clients receive $1,080,938 in tax refunds, including $378,780 in federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) dollars. The EITC is the nation’s largest federal anti-poverty program, serving working families who are most at-risk during hard economic times. The average adjusted gross income for households served by VITA was $21,488. NRCA’s free services saved low-moderate income taxpayers $174,400 in tax return preparation fees, based on an average fee of $200 per tax-filer. An additional 53 families in our service area received free income tax return preparation by taking advantage of the VITA-sponsored myfreetaxes website.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: In 2017 the VITA program gained five new sites: Pulaski County Public Library, Pulaski County Senior Center, Newbern Community Christian Church and the Commissioners of the Revenue for both Radford City and Pulaski County. Over 250 returns came from these new sites, and the Commissioner of the Revenue in Radford has pledged to offer VITA services year-round to any of our clients who are in need. We also enjoyed another successful partnership with First NRV Federal Credit Union. Over 300 returns were generated from this site alone.

ϮϬϭϳ s/d ǀŽůƵŶƚĞĞƌƐ Ăƚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĞŶĚͲŽĨͲƐĞĂƐŽŶ ĚŝŶŶĞƌ ŚĞůĚ Ăƚ ů͛Ɛ ŽŶ &ŝƌƐƚ͘ 1 st ZŽǁ > ƚŽ Z͗ ZŝĐŚĂƌĚ dŚĞŽďĂůĚ͕ ZŽŶ ŶŐĞƌƚ͕ WĂƚƌŝĐŝŝĂ ,Ƶī͕ ĂƚŚLJ &ůŝŶĐŚƵŵ͕ dƌŝŶĂ Rupe, Cindy Olinger, Peggy Hopkins 2 nd ZŽǁ > ƚŽ Z͗ dĂŵŵLJ ĞŶƚůĞLJ͕ ,ĂLJůĞŝŐŚ ŽƐƟĐ 3 rd ZŽǁ > ƚŽ Z͗ s/d ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ ŽŽƌĚŝŶĂƚŽƌ͕ >ĂƵƌĂ DƵƌƉŚLJ͕ ŽŶŶĂ 'ƌĂLJ͕ >ĞĞ ,ŝŶŬůĞ

www.newrivercommunityaction.org

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