FARMINGTON – As tax season approaches, Western Maine CA$H Coalition is gearing up for another year of assisting local residents with free tax preparation services. While the coalition will be making additional financial resources available to working families and individuals this year, organizers are also seeking more volunteers.
For the next two months, organizers, volunteers and agency representatives will gather on the third floor of Roberts Learning Center at the University of Maine at Farmington on Thursdays, 5:30 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays, from 9 a.m. until noon. Tax preparatory services are provided through March 26, with working families and individuals making less than $52,500 a year able to qualify for assistance.
Western Maine CA$H has offered free tax preparation services for 12 years, one of the first community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs to open in the state. Comprised of 11 programs based in the community, Western Maine CA$H has gone from filing 77 tax returns in 2002 to 256 returns last year. In 2014, they acquired a total of $254,000 in refunds for participating families and individuals, as well as saving them another $91,000 in Earned Income Tax Credits.
The money recouped through refunds or an EITC helps more than the filer, organizers said at Friday’s kickoff event. The additional money can provide participants with funds that can be spent in the area.
“It’s a great opportunity for folks to get refunds and credits,” Rep. Andy Buckland (R – Farmington) said, “and it not only benefits them, it benefits the community.”
This year, Western Maine CA$H intends to utilize the tax preparation service as a platform to offer other financial services. Organizers will meet with people coming in to have their taxes prepared and offer them information about the EITC, as well as an opportunity guide that will include other state and federal resources.
Women, Work, and Community will be working to link tax filers to financial education and asset building training. Health Community Coalition health insurance navigators will be present to discuss the impact of the Affordable Care Act on family and individual taxes. Information will be available for families interested in starting emergency savings accounts, making down payments on a house or opening a college savings account.
Through all of this, however, the number of people volunteering to provide tax form assistance has gone down each year. A high rate of turnover among volunteers has resulted in the program having to turn away some would-be participants. Dennis O’Neil, a volunteer who manages the tax preparation center, noted that while the program was able to file 256 returns in 2014, he probably could have filed another 100 had he more volunteers.
“My concern is that the program’s going to die out if we can’t get sustainable volunteers,” O’Neil said. If that were to happen, he said, the nearest, similar service is offered in the Lewiston/Auburn area.
The classroom work necessary to be certified as a volunteer tax preparer takes eight to 10 hours, according to O’Neil, plus some extra time on a computer out of class. Anyone capable of turning on a computer, or using one of the Internet tax preparation applications, has the technical know-how to help walk someone through the process, O’Neil said. After the volunteer helps the participant prepare a return, its reviewed by an on-site manager prior to being filed.
“Some [volunteers] are nervous about the process, until they come down to the center and take someone through the forms,” O’Neil said.
For more information on becoming involved as a volunteer please call (207) 778-2757.
Western Maine CA$H Coalition members and supporters include: The University of Maine at Farmington; United Way of the Tri-Valley Area; Bangor Savings Bank; Foster Technology Center; Women, Work & Community; Western Maine Community Action; Key Bank, and the Internal Revenue Service, and the John T. Gorman Foundation.
While walk-ins are served as time permits, participants are encouraged to schedule an appointment to ensure tax preparer availability. Please call (207)778-7954 to make an appointment.
