UNC first-year Stephi Piefke enjoys perfecting her Italian pronunciation, but the language of taxes is one she dreads in the not-so-distant future of adulthood.
Like Piefke, many Chapel Hill residents need assistance sorting and organizing their taxes before they are due April 18.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a Volunteer Connect 55+ program in Orange County, provides free federal and state income tax preparation to eligible individuals with low-to-middle income, regardless of age or county of residence.
“When I hear the word taxes, the first thing I imagine is pain,” Piefke said. “Right now, my parents deal with (my taxes), but I know in the future I am going to need help.”
IRS certified volunteers provide free tax assistance for people who live in-state or out-of-state, are legal or illegal citizens, speak any language and who have a low-to-moderate income.
VITA coordinator Kathy Porter has worked with the program for 35 years and is an expert on tax assistance and what the program offers.
“We have on average 110 volunteers who are trained in current tax law, know how to use the computer software that IRS provides and are IRS certified,” Porter said.
The program helps assist anywhere between 1,600 and 1,800 people in the Chapel Hill area every year, Porter said. In a two-hour appointment with a client, a volunteer can computerize federal and state tax returns, electronically file returns, identify tax credits and deductions and review returns for accuracy.
Susan Cheek has been a volunteer tax assistant for VITA for 10 years.
