Dear Neighbor

Income Tax Assistance

Dear Neighbor Ministries' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, offers help filling out and filing income tax returns to anyone with an income below $37,000. Returns are filed electronically so those anticipating tax refunds will receive them sooner. The program excludes taxpayers with some types of income, such as pensions and business income.

Dear Neighbor Ministries is one of a number of local agencies sponsoring a VITA site from February through April each year. We began offering this service in 2004.

Volunteers must pass a certification test before they can assist taxpayers. They either attend a class conducted by the Internal Revenue Service or complete an online IRS training program to prepare for the test.

Many people who use the program are from the low-income Hilltop neighborhood adjacent to the Dear Neighbor Ministries offices. A number of low-income clients who had not planned to file a return or who did not anticipate a refund have received substantial refunds due to the earned income tax credit and child care credit.

For more information, contact:

Bill Gress
Phone: 316-684-5120
Email: bgress@csjoseph.org