The Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties is pleased to announce the successful completion of its fourth year participating in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This year, the program provided free tax preparation services to 355 households in our community.
Given the national average cost of $220 for tax preparation for households that were eligible to participate, the VITA program generated a total community savings of $78,100.
For many families in the community, the cost of tax preparation can be a significant barrier, preventing them from filing their returns and potentially missing out on valuable refunds, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit. The community-wide savings generated by the VITA program allowed families to use that saved expense and any additional refunds to catch up on bills and other household necessities, positively
impacting the entire community.
“Our team is honored to be trusted by the IRS to provide this much-needed service to our community,” said Kristina Rivas, Executive Director of the Literacy Council. “As soon as the ϐinal return was submitted, the staff already began workshopping ways to improve the program next season.”
To expand its reach, this year the VITA team prepared returns off-site for residents at Texarkana Resources for the Disabled. The Literacy Council plans to build on this aspect of the program in the coming year, offering off-site free tax preparation at more locations.
The Literacy Council also partnered with Ground Floor Collective, another local nonproϐit. Laking Harris, Financial Opportunity Center Coach, integrated financial literacy counseling into each tax appointment and was available to help individuals with their personal financial goals. This service is also free and available year-round.
The VITA program is just one of the many free initiatives provided by the Literacy Council to empower individuals and families through education.
For more information about the Literacy Council’s year-round programs or to get involved, please visit www.literacytxk.org or call 903-823-3470.
