Local Groups Helping Midlands Residents Prepare For Tax Season

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- The Cooperative Ministry and United Way of the Midlands kicked off tax season with a free tax preparation and filing services for individuals with household incomes of $64,000 or less.

The ‘Super Saturday’ event was held at The Cecil Tillis Community Center in Columbia.

Free, in-person tax preparation services are made possible through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which uses IRS-certified volunteers to provide basic income tax return preparation and electronic filing to qualified individuals throughout the Midlands.

“It feels great knowing that just in less than an hours worth of time one volunteer can save someone a significant amount of money,” Director of Financial Sustainability Programs at the Cooperative Ministry, Jessica Grote said. “I know when I wake up and show up to work and we have lines out the door, I just know we’re doing a service the community is really in need of.”

Last year, The Cooperative Ministry volunteers completed 6,208 refunds in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, Orangeburg and Newberry counties.

For a complete listing of this year’ Tax Prep Sites visit United Way of The Midlands Website or call United Way’s 2-1-1.