According to the IRS, approximately 164 million tax returns will be filed ahead of today’s federal deadline.
Last year, before its closure, the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in the Santa Clarita Valley served over 740,000 residents with in-person tax payments and free tax preparation services.
There’s another free service right here in Santa Clarita Valley called the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA for short.
In 2019, VITA was established here at College of the Canyons to provide services for the 2018 tax year.
“One of my promises when I got hired as a full-time faculty member was to bring the VITA program to the College of the Canyon,” said Ali Naddafpour, COC Professor of Business, VITA Program Director.
VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and Professor Naddafpour says they help everyone in the community prepare their taxes if they meet a certain income threshold.
“The Atmosphere, the people, the smiles, the kindness, the courteous, things that I used to see in the 1950s, 1960s,” said Melinda Mackey, a VITA Client getting her taxes done by the volunteers.
Free VITA Tax Assistance Program Available at College of the Canyons
