El Centro Hispano offers tax-preparation services for non-English speakers

Preparing tax returns can be difficult for anyone, and that process can be even more daunting for non-English speakers.

But with tax season in full swing, Hispanic families in the Carrboro and Chapel Hill area will have options this year when it comes to tax preparation.

Carrboro has the highest Latino population in Orange County with 13.8 percent — 5.6 percentage points higher than Orange County as a whole, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data.

“Our mission is to integrate the Latino community so that both the new immigrants and those who are already here can have better (lives)” said Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, President and CEO of El Centro Hispano.

She said the program can help with the language barrier and lack of knowledge about tax filing.

“Without the program, participants would have more difficulty doing taxes on their own,” she said. “They might turn in the wrong paperwork or even not do them.”

Another option available to residents is the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which is offered for free to people who earn less than $50,000 a year.

About 48 percent of Orange County residents could qualify for the federally run program, which uses volunteers to fill out tax returns and educate low to moderate-income families about the earned income tax credit.

With more than 2,000 federal tax returns last season, Jill Hallenbeck, the VITA site coordinator for Orange and Chatham counties, stressed the importance of the program.

“People think of Orange County as being a wealthy county and of course, there are wealthy people in Orange County, but there are thousands of families and students with very low incomes,” she said. “And there are a lot of people who do not read or write, and those clients need help as well.”

She said those who need more help typically speak a different language.

“Most taxpayers are nervous about the whole tax preparation process, but those with a language barrier have special challenges,” Hallenbeck said. “We try to overcome these challenges by having one-on-one language assistance.”

VITA offers Spanish, Burmese, French and German assistance in Orange and Chatham counties.

“We have a few volunteer tax preparers who are fluent in Spanish and they also answer the Spanish appointment line and make appointments and answer questions,” Hallenbeck said.

Kristi Page, the VITA site coordinator at the Chapel Hill Women’s Center, said they do not see many Hispanics for tax help.

She said each of Chapel Hill’s more than five locations see different numbers of Spanish-speaking participants.

Although there are tax forms in Spanish, Page said they don’t necessarily use them because the volunteers who prepare the taxes are English speaking.

Although many people use VITA services, Page said many still do not know about the services they offer.

“We are trying to get the word out,” Page said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.