Time to gather your information before April 15 tax day

Free preparation service available for low-, moderate-income earners

By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805

The hours are ticking away until midnight Monday, April 15.

So where are you in the preparation of your 2012 tax return?

Yes, some overly ambitious souls have already completed their returns and mailed or eletronically filed them. But for the rest of us mortals, we are still in the middle of tax preparation season and time is starting to run short.

For low- to moderate-income earners, free tax preparation help is available through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites located throughout the 805 region.

In Ventura County, the service is provided by the Ventura County Financial Empowerement Partnership that seeks to help individuals and families who are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program.

“The EITC can boost a family’s income, but the rules are somewhat complicated and so not everyone who applies for it will receive it,” said Susan Englund, vice president of Community Impact for the United Way of Ventura County.

Partnership members include the United Way, the Business and Employment Services Department of the County of Ventura’s Human Services Agency, Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and the IRS.

The partnership targets individuals and families with household income of less than $51,000.

By Feb. 25, a total of 278 individuals and families had received tax preparation help in Ventura County, Englund said.

A total of 1,194 participants received help last year, with the goal of 1,400 this year, she said.

“We’re saying ‘Earn It! Keep It! Save It!’ ” Englund said. “It’s a free service for those who earn less than $51,000 so they won’t have to go to a regular tax preparer and pay $150 to $200.”

Patience will pay off.

“People are usually anxious to get their tax refund, so they often go to paid preparers because they don’t want to wait,” she said. “But this program could save them a couple of hundred dollars. It’s worth waiting for the free savings and to make sure the tax forms are prepared properly.”

The partnership began recruiting VITA preparers last fall, with returning preparers receiving training in January. New volunteers received their training in February.

“We have a total of 50 volunteers, with many already trained tax preparers,” she said.

Tax returns are filed electronically by the IRS-trained volunteers. Those qualifiying for the Earned Income Tax Credit may receive as much as $5,891 for families with three or more qualifying children – even if they pay no income tax.

Through April 13, the trained volunteer tax preparers in Ventura County will prepare federal and state tax returns at El Concilio in Oxnard, Housing Authorities of Ventura and Oxnard, Catholic Charities in Moorpark, SurePath Financial Services in Camarillo, the Family Resource Center in Santa Paula, and in the Job & Career Centers in West Oxnard, Ventura and Simi Valley.

Walk-ins are not accepted in some of the nine VITA centers in the county, so the public is strongly encouraged to call 2-1-1 to schedule an apppointment, Englund said. They can call 24 hours a day.

“We schedule the appointments so we don’t have long lines,” she said.

It usually takes about one hour to complete the tax returns, she said.

“All the sites have a bilingual person available and are very accommodating to everyone, with daytime and evening hours available,” she said.

Tax filers must take a Social Security card or an ITIN for each family member, W-2 forms for all jobs worked in 2012, all 1099 forms for other income earned, photo identification for each adult filing, and a cancelled check for direct deposit of refund. It is  also recommended to take a prior year tax return and child care provider information, including name, address and Tax I.D. number if available.

Assistance in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help for low- to moderate-income earners is also available in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

There are a total of 18 VITA centers spread out across the two counties, including the cities of Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Ynez, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo and Cuyama.

Electronic filing also available

Also available for those individuals who want to file their own tax returns is the new online site www.myfreetaxes.com/VenturaCounty and http://myfreetaxes.com/nsbcountyunitedway.

The interview-based software, sponsored by Walmart, allows eligible taxpayers to prepare and file for free their federal and state taxes online. The target population for this program are single filers who are computer savvy, those who have W-2 forms for each job held in 2012, have 1099 or 1098 income forms showing other income (unemployment, Social Security, school loans, health care reimbursement, state tax refund, gambling winnings, contract work) and those who possess an email address.

Individuals or families with a combined income of $57,000 in 2012 are eligible.

Those seeking to receive a larger refund are urged to gather the following information:

• Childcare expenses: name, address, Tax ID or Social Security number of the childcare provider
• Business expenses and assets: if you’re self-employed or have a small business
• College: loans and/or scholarships received, and bills for technical/community college or university (Forms 1098-T/1098-E)
• Educator expenses for teaching grades K-12 (school supplies and materials used in the classroom)
• Charitable donations: list of contributions and amounts, receipts for contributions over $250
• Vehicles: vehicle sales tax, personal property tax statement for each car you own, total miles driven for the year and/or total miles driven for business
• Renters: amount of rent paid (in some states)
• Homeowners: mortgage interest statement (Form 1098), real estate taxes paid, Statement of Property Tax Payable in 2012
• Retirement/IRA: amount contributed to an IRA and total value as of December 2012
• ITIN: if you need to apply for an ITIN for yourself or a family member, find out what other documents you need to take with you when you get help filing your taxes for free.

Ventura County VITA locations