Although the 2018 tax filing season has ended, there is still free help available in preparing past due and amended tax returns. Now through October, the Louisville Asset Building Coalition’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, or VITA, will provide federal and state income tax assistance to income eligible residents who need help filing prior returns. It is also still possible to receive a refund for returns from the years 2016 to 2018 for those who qualify. Taxpayers earning $66,000 or less can make an appointment with a VITA team member by calling (502) 574-5687.
Summer/early fall VITA tax preparation sites are located at the following:
Saturday hours are also available on the following dates at the Edison Center: Aug. 3, Sept. 7 and Oct. 5, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
The IRS lists the following reasons for filing past due returns:
Amended tax returns may be necessary if you excluded a source of income when filing your original return, and are required by the IRS to add the additional document. Also taxpayers are often not aware of the credits that they are eligible when they file their original return and in these cases the VITA team can assist them in filing for these credits. For example, many taxpayers are not aware that educational expenses can be used as a credit in many cases.
Please be sure to bring the following items to your appointment with a VITA representative:
“We encourage residents who missed the date to file their tax returns or who have returns that need to be amended to file so that they can claim the refunds and credits for which they are eligible,” said Christopher Murphree, Program Director for the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) which administers the local VITA program. “We also encourage taxpayers who believe that they will owe money to file as soon as possible, and we can assist them with setting up a payment plan.”
During the 2018 tax filing season, LABC prepared over 8,200 returns that provided an average refund of $1,638 at nine tax sites in Louisville.
The work of the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) is funded locally by Louisville Metro Government, Metro United Way and several other partners. Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services also provides administrative, marketing and technical support, as well as a shared mission to build the financial stability of the residents in our community.
For more information on LABC services, please visit www.labcservices.org.
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