Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Tax Year 2022

LOCHWOOD LIBRARY VITA SITE 2022 TAX SEASON HOURS:
By appointment only. (limited capacity)
Solo con cita. (capacidad limitada)
Only taxpayers signing the return will be allowed to get in.
Solo se permitirá la entrada a las personas que van a firmar la declaración de impuestos.
Location:Lochwood Library
11221 Lochwood Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75218
Phone:(214) 670-8403 - Appointments

When: Wednesdays, February 1 to April 12, 2023.

Hours: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00.

Documents in English for Lochwood Library:

What do I need to bring – English and Spanish
Intake and Interview sheet – English

Documentos en Español para la Biblioteca Lochwood:

¿Qué necesito traer? – Inglés y Español
Formulario de Admisión y Entrevista – Español

 

FOREST GREEN LIBRARY  AARP SITE 2022 TAX SEASON HOURS:
First come, first served – No appointment necessary (limited capacity)
No se necesita cita. Se les atenderá en el orden de llegada (capacidad limitada)
Only taxpayers signing the return will be allowed to get in.
Solo se permitirá la entrada a las personas que van a firmar la declaración de impuestos.
Location:LightChurch
2606 John West Rd
Mesquite, TX 75150
Phone:(972) 914-9828 - Appointments

When: Thursdays, February 9 to April 13, 2023.

Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Documents in English for Forest Green Library:

What do I need to bring – English and Spanish
Intake and Interview sheet – English

Documentos en Español para la Biblioteca Lochwood:

¿Qué necesito traer? – Inglés y Español
Formulario de Admisión y Entrevista – Español

 

OTHER PARTNER SITE:
www.DallasTaxCenters.org
Location:Several locations throughout Dallas
Phone:(214) 370-9353 for more information

To get the latest information and to sign up to receive text message alerts, please text the word TAXCENTERS to (833) 939-1387

A program of Foundation Communities – Tax Season starts late January 2022

 

What to bring to either library: You will need to bring the items you have marked in your “what to bring” sheet (link provided above). Original Social Security cards or ITIN letters for everyone in the tax return MUST be presented, as well as picture ID’s for the adults. No exceptions!

Please note that this is a free service performed by IRS trained volunteers and that there’s limited capacity. Please be patient.

Qué necesito traer a cualquiera de las dos bibliotecas: Necesita traer los documentos de los casilleros que usted marcó en el formulario “Qué necesito traer? (enlace arriba). SE REQUIERE que traigan las tarjetas de Seguro Social o números de ITIN de todas las personas que van a ser incluidas en la declaración de impuestos y la identificación con foto de los adultos. ¡No se harán excepciones!

Por favor note que este es un servicio gratuito hecho por voluntarios entrenados por el IRS y que la capacidad es limitada. Por favor tenga paciencia.


Due to Covid -19 restrictions, only the taxpayers that will sign the tax return will be allowed inside. Please don’t bring children or relatives since they cannot get inside. MASKS ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

Debido a las restricciones por el Covid-19 solamente se dejará entrar a los contribuyentes que deben firmar la declaración de impuestos. Por favor no traiga niños o parientes ya que no se les permitirá la entrada. RECOMENDAMOS ENCARECIDAMENTE EL USO DEL CUBREBOCAS.

 

About FRI VITA Program

Ferguson Road Initiative’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) initiative offers free tax help to people who generally make $60,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing.

Started in 2005 and today is a collaborative venture between Foundation Communities, Sharing Life, the Dallas Public Library, and the IRS. Annually we recruit, train, and deploy between 40-80 volunteers certified by the IRS. This year FRI’s VITA Initiative will be hosted by the Lochwood Library: 11221 Lochwood Blvd., Dallas 75218 and the Forest Green Library: 9616 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75243.

FRI, as part of the collaborative partners above, works in partnership with over 50 IRS-sponsored free tax preparation sites throughout the DFW area. For a complete list of sites, please visit IRS VITA locator site: https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/.

Since its establishment in 2005, our program has completed over 16,000 tax returns, keeping over $28,000,000 in federal refunds within our community. It’s important to note, without this program our families would have to pay a minimum of $175 to have someone else prepare and e-file their return. More importantly, many of these families would fall prey to expensive “rapid refund” loans with predatory interest rates as high as 500-600%. The Ferguson Road corridor is helped by FRI’s VITA program. Individuals receiving larger refunds are spending their refunds in our neighborhoods. In post-service surveys, 38% of taxpayers stated that they will be using their refunds to catch up bills and 10% to pay for essential services such as rent or mortgage payments.

FRI utilizes equipment that has been purchased with a grant from Charles Schwab Bank and covers its expenses with funds provided by donations made by individuals, corporations and churches. FRI actively seeks neighborhood volunteers to prepare taxes and to welcome taxpayers to our center throughout the year. Some of our senior volunteers have been working with our initiative from the beginning with more than 17 years of experience. Training is free, online, and provided by the IRS in case you want to volunteer. Just call us at 214-324-5116.

One unique aspect of our service has included helping taxpayers resolve and/or file late prior year returns, State Returns when they have worked outside of Texas in States with state income taxes, and service to individuals who do not have social security numbers. We also help individuals obtain or renew their ITIN number for free.

This service provides North Texas families and individuals the opportunity to reach financial stability through a multitude of programs, including free income tax preparation, one-on-one financial coaching and assistance, college financial aid, and more. Individuals who would like to prepare and file their own taxes can visit United Way’s www.MyFreeTaxes.com if they have a simple tax return but exceed the VITA $60,000 threshold.

For the 2022 Tax preparation year ending on April 15,2022, our statistics and highlights are as follows:

  • 726 families served
  • $1,405,202 in refunds.
  • Average AGI for families served as $28,044
  • Our volunteers contributed 754 hours of service valued at $22,583
  • We served 180 hours of financial education (15 minutes per client)
  • TOTAL SERVED OVER PAST 17 YEARS
    • 16,000 families
    • $28 million in refunds
  • PARTNERS
    • Foundation Communities
    • Sharing Life
    • Charles Schwab Bank
    • IRS
    • AARP
    • The Dallas Public Library

 

The total of over 16,000 is not an unduplicated number. Some families have returned every year for 17 years!

Rev. January 2023