Hispanic Unity of Florida’s free income tax help is now online

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of many people in our community. From jobs to schools and even to how we grocery shop, it created a major shift in how we live.

But one thing remains constant: At some point, our federal income tax returns will be due. The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in late March that the tax filing due date has been extended to July 15, 2020.

For nearly two decades, Hispanic Unity of Florida (HUF), a South Florida-based nonprofit organization — along with its nearly three dozen community partners — has provided no-cost tax preparation services to thousands of qualified Broward residents. This program is possible through its volunteer- and partner-driven Broward Tax Pro/Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also known as VITA.

In mid-March, to safeguard the health and safety of clients and volunteers, Hispanic Unity of Florida closed 17 of its inperson Broward Tax Pro/VITA sites at community partner locations throughout Broward.

Now we are excited to provide this no-cost service once again to Broward residents, this time through a safe online platform.

HUF partnered with Code for America, a nonprofit that believes government can work for the people, and by the people, in the digital age, starting with the people who need it most. Code for America created the digital platform, Get Your Refund, for the 2020 tax season. Members of Code for South Florida were instrumental in working with us to bring this pilot program to Florida.

To qualify for the Broward Tax Pro/ VITA, county residents must be the head of a family or an individual earning less than $66,000 a year. Clients who meet this requirement will have the expertise of a skilled, certified tax professional prepare his or her taxes. The tax professionals who are a part of this program understand their clients’ needs and can provide assistance in English, Spanish or Haitian Creole (coming soon).

Qualified taxpayers can upload their documents via a secure website by visiting www.getyourrefund.org/?s=hispanicunity. It’s a unique site created for HUF. After uploading the necessary information, visitors to the site will be contacted within 24 hours by a Broward Tax Pro/ VITA staffer. Clients should feel confident submitting their tax information through this safe, secure and encrypted website.

For easier access, the above link is available at all three of HUF’s websites: www.hispanicunity.org, www.hufsafety.org and www.Vitataxesfree.org.

Another feature of this year’s program is a hotline that serves as an information and referral hub for the online tax preparation service. The telephone number is (954) 678-6882. The hotline can handle your concerns about stimulus checks and frequently asked tax questions. It is available Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is closed Sundays. The hotline’s customer service representatives can assist callers in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

As 2020 shapes up to be a year of shifting and adapting, Hispanic Unity of Florida and the Broward Tax Pro/VITA program also shifted and adapted. By making this cost-free service available online via a safe and secure website, along with a telephone hotline to answer general tax questions, we are able to provide the same level of service our clients have come to expect from Tax Pro/VITA.

Hispanic Unity of Florida, its many community and funding partners and the staff and volunteers who are part of the Broward Tax Pro/VITA program stand ready to help make the certainty of filing a federal income tax return online a secure and smooth endeavor.

By making this cost-free service available online via a safe and secure website ... we are able to provide the same level of service our clients have come to expect.