Bucks County Opportunity Council’s (BCOC) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program saved clients over $500,000 in tax preparer fees and brought over $1.7 million dollars back to the Bucks County community this year.
The free VITA program is an IRS initiative designed to support free tax preparation service for the underserved through various partner organizations.
This year’s VITA program made a huge impact, completing a record number of tax returns. Including local, state, federal, property tax and rental rebates, BCOC did 1,433 returns.
The VITA program has operated for over 50 years. VITA sites offer free tax help to low-income people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns.
While the IRS manages the VITA program, the five VITA sites in Bucks County are operated by the Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) and staffed by volunteers who want to make a difference in their communities. The 44 dedicated, IRS-certified volunteers who provided tax counseling are a mix of retired and working individuals who support BCOC and happily give their time and expertise to the cause.
Since BCOC began providing the VITA program in 2005, volunteers have prepared more than 20,000 returns, resulting in $34 million reinvested in the Bucks County community in the form of refunds, credits, and fees saved.
The VITA program is a key component of the financial literacy provided to low-income families participating in BCOC programs. Refunds received through VITA assist low-income families whose household budgets are tenuous, bringing economic stability back to the household.
BCOC is the lead anti-poverty, nonprofit organization in Bucks County, dedicated to ending poverty by connecting people with the resources they need to thrive. BCOC has five major program areas: Housing, Food, Weatherization, Volunteer Income Tax Preparation (VITA) and the Economic Self-Sufficiency (ES) Program.
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