VITA volunteers help Atlanta families file taxes for free

Inside an Ebenezer Baptist Church classroom, volunteers are helping families file their taxes for free one return at a time. 

"I am the site coordinator for the Ebenezer VITA tax site," said Joyce McClendon, who has led the location for 11 years. "I coordinate, making sure that all of the tax participants have what they need and we make sure that their taxes are done correctly."

McClendon is one of several IRS-trained volunteers working through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA. United Way of Greater Atlanta says the program helped return millions of dollars to eligible taxpayers across metro Atlanta last year. 

"For me, it's a give back. It's a ministry," McClendon said. "I just love being able to help people make sure they're getting their money."

Kenneth Palmer, acting executive director of the Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resource Collaborative, said volunteers are the backbone of the program. 

"The volunteers are what make us go round," Palmer said. "Without them, we couldn't get the job done."

Palmer said VITA not only helps families receive refunds, but also saves them hundreds of dollars in tax preparation fees. "We saw about $1.8 million go back into the community," he said.  

Across metro Atlanta, there are several VITA sites offering free tax preparation for residents making less than $69,000.

McClendon said that impact keeps people coming back year after year. "They look for our faces," she said. "That lets them know somebody cares." VITA sites across metro Atlanta offer free tax preparation for eligible residents throughout the filing season.

More details can be found here.