Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Santa Clara County

Free Tax Services for Hardworking People

As part of our Income Strategy, United Way Silicon Valley partners with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), churches, nonprofits and other organizations to offer free tax assistance to local families and individuals. Many of these families qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a federal tax benefit for working families with low to moderate incomes. This tax credit improves financial stability for many local families who are working hard, but barely making it, by significantly boosting their annual incomes – nearly $6,000 for some families.The tax credit is also good for the local economy because these free tax sites help to bring millions of dollars in tax refunds to Santa Clara County each year. Learn more about the program (PDF).

2012: Our Most Successful Tax Season

The Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Coalition notched up another successful tax season. This year 10 new sites were opened in Santa Clara County bringing the total to 47 VITA sites. In addition, United Way Silicon Valley partnered with the IRS to host multiple training sessions for new and returning tax preparers that led to more than 300 volunteers being trained and deployed to the many VITA sites throughout Santa Clara County. The bottom line, is that in 2012 more local individuals and families received free tax preparation services than ever before, which led to very precious dollars being returned to our community. In total, 6,096 taxpayers were served by the network of Santa Clara County VITA sites this year. This compares to 5,770 taxpayers helped in 2011. IRS results show total refunds were in excess of $7.1M.  More than $4.2M of that amount was in Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Care Tax Credits due to eligible low-income families.

How You Can Help

Volunteer. The Campaign uses more than 200 volunteers to help prepare taxes or assist at the sites. Volunteers receive free training and IRS certification. Training sessions begin in December and run through January. Classes are full, however, you can learn through self-study. Contact us as instructed below for details.

Give. Give a financial gift or in-kind donation of computer equipment and printers to support the campaign's success.

Contact Us

To learn about volunteer opportunities and for other inquiries use our contact form or call us at 408-345-4311.

 

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