“VITA” stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and it is a program headed by the IRS to recruit and train volunteers to help the elderly and people of low income to properly fill out their tax returns.  The Campaign for Working Families, a United Way Agency in Volusia and Flagler counties, partners with the IRS to run VITA programs all over these two counties working to help the poor properly fill out their tax returns to ensure the highest maximum return allowable by law.  Many families in our area do not properly fill out their returns and miss out on the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) leaving thousands (millions, actually) of dollars unclaimed.  The Campaign for Working Families then works with local banks to train volunteers to lead MoneySmart classes for these folks so they can learn how to invest their funds wisely. Each year, the Campaign for Working Families and its volunteers help return $4-$5 million back to our local communities through this program, but we need volunteers to commit to the IRS training and then to 2-4 hours per week during tax season (roughly January 15-April 15).

BAP members who would be interested in participating in this program in the upcoming season (tax season of 2010) would attend a weekend class in November or December conducted by the IRS in which they learn the latest tax codes, and then, after passing an IRS-administered exam certifying them for tax assistance, they would begin helping local members of our community fill out their tax returns.  BAP members who are more interested in the MoneySmart program, could also train for that and lead classes to help with smart investing.