New Hanover County seeking volunteers to help residents file their taxes
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - New Hanover County is looking for volunteers to help with two programs aimed at assisting people with filing their 2023 taxes.
“The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) and AARP Tax Aide program are seeking adult volunteers to assist individuals and families electronically file their simple federal and North Carolina state tax returns,” a county announcement states.
The VITA program will have two tax preparation locations: the NHC Senior Resource Center at 2222 S. College Road in Wilmington and the Katie B. Hines Senior Center at 300 Cape Fear Blvd. in Carolina Beach. The AARP Tax Aide Program will be at the NHC Downtown Library at 201 Chestnut St. in Wilmington.
“Every year, we work with some amazing volunteers who serve our community by helping local residents navigate the tax filing process,” said Senior Resource Center Director Amber Smith. “We are very fortunate to have these services in New Hanover County, but in order to succeed, we recruit and rely on volunteers who are willing to help residents with low to moderate incomes file their tax returns.”
Both programs are seeking volunteers willing to work at least four hours per week from late January/early February until April 15 as either intake specialists or tax payers. Intake specialists meet and screen clients to determine if they’re eligible for the service. No tax preparation is done by intake specialists.
“Volunteer tax preparers receive IRS-approved training and IRS certification. This training starts in December with self-study work before transitioning to classroom and computer training in January. Training concludes with exercises that focus on preparing sample returns on IRS-provided software,” the announcement continues.
To learn more about volunteering, you can reach out to Becky Doherty with the VITA program by calling 910-798-6406 or emailing bdoherty@nhcgov.com. You can also reach out to Bonnie Nelson with AARP Tax Aide located at the Downtown Library by calling 910-742-0814.
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