IRS awards grant to United Way for taxpayer assistance program
The United Way of Bartholomew County is one of the recipients of a grant from the Internal Revenue Service to help lower income residents prepare their tax returns.
The IRS announced grants would go to seven Indiana organizations, including the United Way of Bartholomew County for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA program.
Magen Pillar, spokeswoman for the United Way said that the exact grant amount is not yet known but Pillar said that the grant is incredibly important as it underwrites some of the costs of implementing this program.
She said that last tax season, the United Way program prepared about 1,000 returns for families in Bartholomew County, which resulted in nearly $1 million dollars in tax refunds. She said the program is one of the ways the agency work to ensure financial stability for residents.
The VITA program offers free federal tax return preparation and electronic filing to low and middle income individuals and families, those with disabilities and those with limited English skills. Volunteers receive training and technical assistance to provide help to taxpayers.
Other Indiana grant recipients include:
- Vincennes University D/B/A Generations, Vincennes
- United Way of Monroe County Inc, Bloomington
- Northwest Indiana Community Action Corp, Crown Point
- United Way of Allen County, Fort Wayne
- Pathfinder Services Inc, Huntington
- United Way of Central Indiana Inc., Indianapolis
- Love Makes Cent$ Inc., Richmond