The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Free tax help offered to Middlesex County
Low- to moderate-income households qualify
MIDDLETOWN — The Middlesex Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is gearing up to once again begin offering free tax return filing service to low- and moderateincome households (those with yearly incomes of less than $60,000) in the greater Middletown community by the end of January.
VITA volunteers are IRS-certified volunteer tax professionals whose goal is to help their clients receive all of the tax credits for which they are eligible.
Beginning Jan. 31, VITA plans to prepare tax returns in person this year at two convenient Middletown locations, and will follow appropriate protocols to ensure the health and safety of volunteers and clients.
The tax preparation schedule/locations are:
Mondays to Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. at MARC Community Resources, 25 Industrial Park Road (new location)
Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the North End Action Team, 654 Main St.
All returns are prepared by appointment only.
Scheduling an appointment is easy and can be done one of three ways: visit the Russell Library information desk, call 2-1-1 or visit uwc.211ct.org/taxhelp, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A coalition of committed volunteers and local nonprofit organizations makes the Middlesex VITA program possible. Lisa Liesener, the new steering committee chairperson for the coalition, is looking forward to her first year in this leadership position. Liesener started volunteering with VITA four years ago.
“The heartfelt thanks we receive and the sense of relief we can feel from people after helping them complete their tax returns is extremely rewarding,” said Liesener. “Being able to put my love of numbers to work for a couple months each year is something I do to balance out my professional life, which is usually spent outside in the natural world exploring the woods with children.”
Liesener also runs the local nonprofit Everyone Outside, which helps children and adults learn to connect with nature.
Since its establishment in 2008, the Middlesex VITA coalition has helped more than 650 Middlesex County area residents each
year to file their tax returns, returning almost $1 million in tax refunds back to the Middletown area each year. Members are committed to having volunteers reflect the community they serve, and hope that clients and volunteers alike experience an inviting and
inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our community.
VITA is a free program offered through the IRS. Local VITA sites are coordinated by the Middlesex VITA Coalition, a partnership of the Middlesex United Way, Russell Library,
the North End Action Team, and MARC Community Resources. The Middlesex VITA Coalition receives support from the Connecticut Association of Human Services.