Tax season relief as volunteer program offers free assistance for stress-free filing

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A new year means tax season is quickly approaching.

But, a decades-long program is available to make filing your taxes easier, and the best is it’s free.

Dozens of volunteers are finishing their training to be a part of VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program.

VITA is a program created by the IRS back in the 1970s to provide free tax filing services.

More than 50 volunteers have been training since December and will be certified by the IRS by the end of the month.

Cully Shelton is a senior program manager for Americorp, who helps host the VITA program at the New Hanover County Senior Resource Center.

He said the program will make filing your taxes easier and more enjoyable.

“That volunteers are doing this out of the kindness and dedication to make it simpler for you,” Shelton said. “So I think that is one of the big pieces to think about. If you’re afraid of your taxes on your own, come in and seek assistance and those volunteers that are dedicated can support you in that effort.”

Site coordinator Bill Hawkins worked as a tax lawyer before retiring, but he still wanted to be able to help people get through tax season.

He said making a mistake on your taxes is an understandable fear and VITA is there to make sure such mistakes don’t happen.

“If you’ve just got a really simple return, just have a W-2 from an employer and that’s all you have to do, that’s easy to do on your own, you probably don’t need to come here,” Hawkins said. “But for more complex returns than that, I think, again, its a free service and I think we do a really good job and we help make sure that you don’t make those kind of mistakes that you would make on your own.”

There is a second VITA location at Katie Hines Senior Center in Carolina Beach.

You can either go in person to those locations or drop off your information.

The program starts on January 29th.