Utah Community Action Partnership - Helping People. Changing Lives.

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The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiative that offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income people who cannot prepare their own taxes. Utah has implemented the VITA program across the state through the Earn it. Keep it. Save it. initiative, which is a statewide public-private partnership that builds partnerships to strengthen family financial stability utilizing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), and other asset formation programs.

Earn it. Keep it. Save it. provides free tax preparation services, through VITA, to households whose income is below $49,000 a year. VITA sites are fully staffed by volunteers who are trained by the IRS. Each volunteer works with a tax filer to ensure that all tax credits to which the tax filer is entitled, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), are claimed.

The EITC is a refundable tax credit that reduces or eliminates the tax liability that low- to moderate-income working individuals pay. The EITC also frequently operates as a wage subsidy for low- to moderate-income workers. The EITC is one of the largest anti-poverty tools in the United States and enjoys broad bipartisan support.

• In 2011 over 15,000 low –to moderate – income households were served. This resulted in over $23 million dollars being distributed through tax refunds.
• 30% of VITA volunteers hear about VITA from their employer.
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit to including an increase for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children and raised the maximum EITC to $5,657.
• In 2011 Earn it. Keep it. Save it. distributed nearly 8 million in EITC alone.
• There are over 30 partners that contribute to Earn it. Keep it. Save it.
• Almost all of the 721 volunteers are certified by the IRS as a tax preparer
• $3 million is saved in tax preparation fees annually by tax filers using VITA sites.

For more information on volunteering or to find out if you qualify please visit www.utahtaxhelp.org