IRS program offers free tax assistance for qualifying taxpayers

CHARLOTTE — Tax season often brings the unknown, either not knowing how much you’ll have to pay a tax preparer or the risk of making a costly mistake by preparing your own.

Jason Lee said he was once in those shoes.

“I went through this period of homelessness, and coming out of that, I knew one of the things I had to do was get my finances together,” Lee explained.

He eventually took advantage of Vita, a program funded by the IRS that offers free tax help to people making $64,000 or less.

Bonnie Tiernan with Crisis Assistance Ministry said the service was created to benefit their customers, and the goal is to keep money in their pockets.

“There are volunteer tax preparers who are trained and certified by the IRS, and they can prepare tax returns for low- and moderate-income families at no charge,” Tiernan explained. “When people come to us for emergency financial assistance, our caseworkers during tax season are always going to mention the Vita program.”

>> Tiernan delves into the different ways Vita can aid taxpayers, in the video at the top of the page.

VIDEO: IRS urges taxpayers to file, despite possible changes to child tax credit

IRS urges taxpayers to file, despite possible changes to child tax credit

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