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With tax deadline soon, county library offers help

By Priscilla Castro
The Collegian

With the deadline to file tax returns less than two weeks away, many taxpayers may be looking for someone to help complete the many forms required by the IRS.

The good news for those making less than $40,000 a year is that a free program can offer assistance in filing tax returns.

The Fresno County Library is helping people file their income taxes for free through a program called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

Liana Pino, site captain for the Fresno County Library, said VITA’s workers are IRS volunteers who offer their time to help people complete their tax returns after completing a training course and receiving a certificate.

“I keep the certificates on hand, just in case,” Pino said.

Taxpayers who have waited until the last minute to file their returns will have access to assistance as well.

VITA holds a free event from 5 to 10 p.m. at McDonald’s on Blackstone and Bullard Avenues on the night of the tax deadline, which this year is April 17 because the usual deadline of the 15th falls on a weekend.

Pino said the busiest time if the year for VITA is February, when people who are expecting money back from the government seek to file their taxes early.

“The first people who come in are expecting a refund,” Pino said.

In March, Pino said they see an increase in the number of people who owe the government money and those who haven’t had the time to work on their taxes previously, in such as students.

The number of people decreases in April, but volunteers often busy on deadline day at McDonalds, Pino said.

VITA will not only help taxpayers file their returns for this year. The program also seeks to educate students for the future.

“When a student comes in to get their taxes done we show them how to do their own tax returns,” said Pino.

VITA’s services will provide its last free tax filing this Saturday at the Fresno County Library from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For those who cannot make it on a Saturday or would like to visit a free tax adviser by appointment, there are other VITA sites around the area that will also help.

To view a full list of sites, visit the Fresno County Public Library Web site and click on the “tax forms and help” link.


	April 5, 2006 California State University, Fresno