ORLANDO, Fla. — Tax season is underway.
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This year, the Internal Revenue Service expects more than than 128 million individual tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline.
While this may be the time of year many people dread, some companies are coming together in Central Florida to lessen the burden.
Goodwill Industries has partnered with Heart of Florida United Way to offer free tax prep with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA for short.
Appointments for VITA begin Friday, Feb. 2, at select locations.
“It allows them to know that they are getting a service that is honest and to the best of the ability of the volunteers to do their taxes,” Damaris Moraza, manager for Goodwill Connects, said.
The program offers free tax prep for anyone who makes $73,000 or less per year.
“We target a population like seniors or individuals that can be taken advantage of through predatory tax preparation places,” Moraza said. “We try to make this an easy process.”
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A process experts said will take about an hour of your time.
Individuals just need to find one of the 18 VITA locations closest to them, visit the site or make an appointment, and bring the necessary documents.
Last year, Heart of Florida VITA sites transmitted 2,264 tax returns for $2,564,835 in refunds.
Information regarding what documents to bring, VITA locations, and phone numbers to make appointments can all be found by clicking here and here.
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